Inside Story: How AbdulRazaq’s Commissioner Becomes Irrelevant In Home

It is no longer news that one of the confidants of Kwara State Governor and chairman of his inauguration committee for the May 29, 2019 swearing-in ceremony, Senator Suleiman Makanjuola Ajadi dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for  African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Ajadi left APC after the last primaries of the party where he came third to pick the ticket of ADC, He had a one-hour explosive interview on the radio where he exposed some allegedly inner dealings he had with the Governor.

It would be recalled that Adenike Harriet Oshatimehin-Afolabi, was a money lender before Senator Ajadi single-handedly brought her from Ibadan and nominate her name to the Kwara State Governor as a Commissioner.

Mrs Afolabi hails from Oke-Ayo, a village in the Ora district of the Ifelodun local government area with one polling unit.

Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Gubernatorial running mate was from Oke-Ayo same place as Osatimehin-Afolabi’s place of origin.

A source told Afrika Eyes that the commissioner has never voted in her village before now because she only had her voter’s card moved to Oke-Ayo after the 2019 election. Though she has been enmeshed in myriad controversies since her appointment, the Governor manages to keep her.

However, the choice of Olakunle an ECWA clergy, one of the largest denominations with its spread in Igbomina land is strategic and will dwarf the support and votes of AbdulRazaq in the surrounding communities of Ora district or ward.

Another source stated that the Ora community usually meet under an umbrella known as “Agbegbs Ora” and such had been used in the past to pile support for any direction the bloc chose.

“They will likely throw their support around Joshua Olakunle the gubernatorial running mate of SDP’s Hakeem Lawal.

“The commissioner’s father, a former Director in one of the federal agencies remains a close ally of the estranged political friend of the Governor,” he said.

It has been equally argued that the non-performance of Harriet in the about half a dozen ministries and she has been posted and inability to attract anything “home” will be a minus to the government she currently serves.

The tall cabinet member of AbdulRazaq according to a source had done a few empowerment programs where clothing materials and household items like Tv were shared. She was praised for using her salary to hire a grader to work on all roads in the district.

A document obtained by Afrika Eyes shows where the Ora community appreciates the State government for constructing the Ora township road that was abandoned for decades, the document shows a direct response by the Governor to the request of Ora Development.

The community equally made its voice loud on the issue of its epileptic power supply owing to a faulty transformer. Ora’s community contributed to getting herself connected to the National Grid many years back.

The APC-led administration in the State of Harmony should by now have plotted her graph to know where its appointees would add value and/or otherwise.

Harriet like many other appointees of AbdulRazaq may not be an asset to his re-election bid and gives an edge to the opposition that is leaving no stone unturned.

The facts remain that AbdulRazaq has more liabilities than assets in its cabinet.