By Demola Akinyemi

The 24 member Kwara State House of Assembly as with the immediate past House is heavily dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which won 22 seats in the last general elections. The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN picked the remaining two seats.

In the recent past the House had won the reputation of being a rubber stamp for the executive arm. This was because of the nature of the appointment of her officials a fact further buttressed by the rarity of discord between the two arms of government.

It was as such not surprising that during the recent inauguration of the House that the new Speaker, Barrister, Abdulrazaq Atunwa (from Owode/Onire constituency) pledged the cooperation of the present leadership with the executive so as to take Kwara to the next level of development.

Even without an open accusation the Speaker seized the opportunity of the inauguration to dismiss the insinuations of the House being a ‘rubberstamp’ of the executive either before or presently.

‘’Kwara has been blessed with a peculiar political nature and leadership, which I know other states of the federation have been yearning to have. We have a God-sent leader, Dr Olusola Saraki and our mentor Senator Bukola Saraki who ensured that things are done in a most peaceful and democratic manner with wide consultations and dialogue among the stakeholders.

Politics is not necessarily about crisis and political rascality, it’s all about bringing developments to the doorsteps of the people and Kwarans have never had it so good in the last eight years. Our agenda in the present leadership is to use that platform for further development,’’ he said.

The issue of funding has also been peacefully tackled as legislators attend various overseas seminars, and perform their oversight functions because their funds have not been denied them.

Remarkably, majority of the members of the present House consist of those who were in the immediate past House of Assembly. Considering that there was some inertia in that House it is feared that this could turn out to be a weakness or a disadvantage.

As a result of the dominance of the PDP in the present House with 22 of the 24 seats, the House has now abolished the office of Minority Leader and other principal offices for the minority party, ACN. That has drawn the ire of the two ACN lawmakers in the House, Olayonu Tope of and Hon Oyeleke Hassan.

One remarkable feature of the present House of Assembly is the preponderance of former aides and appointees of the Sarakis. Among them are the Deputy Speaker, Professor [Engr] Mohammed Gana Yisa from Patigi constituency who was the former  Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources for about six years in the last administration, Dr[Mrs] Felicia Modupe Ojeleye from Isin constituency (the  immediate past Commissioner for Commerce and Cooperative society), Deaconess [Mrs] Ebun Owolabi from Ekiti constituency (a long time personal staff of the older Saraki before the advent of the last administration where she assumed various political offices before ending as Deputy Chief of Staff), Hon Moshood Bakare  from Omupo constituency (a personal staff of former governor Saraki), Hajia Sikirat Anako from Odo Ogun constituency, (former special adviser)

In the same vein, Hajia Nimota Ibrahim from Ilorin east constituency, who had been serving as commissioner long before the present and last administration was also a member of the Board of Trustees, PDP, and Dr Ibrahim Ajiboye Ashaolu from Okeero constituency with Elder David Bamidele from Irepodun constituency variously served as commissioners in the last administration.

With these men and women among others, it is not unexpected that the Sarakis would be able to continue sustain their leading role in the political affairs of the State.

It is also noteworthy that debates and contributions are now noticeably richer, a clear departure from what is used to be.

The Chairman, Committee on Public Account  and Business Rules and Judiciary, Hon Moshood Olanrewaju Bakare of Omupo constituency told Vanguard in an interview that the residents and people of Kwara should expect more results from the present crop of the legislative chamber.

“All of us have the required experience and background to perform, in terms of effectively performing our oversight functions, to better the lot of the residents and good people of Kwara. We have been in government, nothing is strange to us about the indices of performances and the essence of good government as learnt from our mentor, Senator Bukola Saraki is there to guide us.”