The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has been greeted with a sea of rejections among traditional institutions as the 2023 general election draws nearer.
Leaders of the party were rejected and rebuffed by monarchs as a way of ventilating their displeasure against the 16 years of misrule of the Saraki dynasty in the state.
Traditional rulers had a backlog of unpaid entitlements under the dynasty, a deficit which is being cleared under the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Sources familiar with the rejection stories said they occurred in Patigi, Tsaragi, and Babanloma.
Leader of the party and former senate president, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, was snubbed during his visit to Patigi as part of an ongoing tour of Kwara North he had kickstarted.
Etsu of Patigi, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim Bologi, did not meet the former senate president and his team during their visit.
This development reportedly angered Saraki who threatened to sanction the monarch if they get power back in 2023.
“The senate president was so uncomfortable that the royal father did not come to receive him. He complained that the king has not always been meeting him when he visits the community. He then told members of the community to relay his message in Tapa, the local language, to the monarch that he would be dealt with if PDP emerges in the gubernatorial election,” one of our sources said.
In another development, former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed reportedly led a team of PDP stalwarts to Babaloma in the southern part of Kwara State in a bid to seek the royal blessing of the Loma of Babanloma, Oba Muhammed Usman Ayilara.
A source at the palace during the event narrated that the monarch initially refused to entertain the former governor.
According to him, “It took efforts and pleas of some community elders before the Oba settled to see Abdulfatah Ahmed. The royal father was visibly displeased with their administrative style.
“In fact, he did not allow Maigida and his team to seat because he threw a jibe at them that the sofa in his palace was provided by Hon. Owolabi Razaq, lawmaker currently representing Share/Oke-Ode at the State House of Assembly.
“After all their discussions which included seeking royal endorsement, the monarch unusually kept mute which shows his displeasure for the idea of their comeback in the state,” he said.
He added that the PDP politicians left in utter disappointment and shame.
Ahmed also threatened to come at the royal father and punish him with dethronement if the PDP gets elected in the forthcoming election.
The same rejection story happened in Tsaragi, a community that shares boundaries with Share when the PDP gubernatorial candidate Yaman Abdullahi led his team there.
The royal father did not also entertain them. They left in dejection and shock, our source said, adding, but not without murmuring with threats to deal with the king.
Meanwhile, community members have berated the threats made by leaders of the opposition PDP to dethrone the said monarchs if they get to power.
A youth in Patigi, Sadiq Muhammed, said the threats are condemnable.
He called on the people of Patigi to vote massively against PDP in the coming election for such audacity.
“We don’t joke with our traditional rulers here in Patigi. We accord them our fullest respect. Therefore, it is insensitive and rude for anyone no matter how highly placed to ridicule them or threaten them. We shall never allow that to happen. All my fellow community men in Patigi that are true born should vote against PDP,” he remarked.