Lai Mohammed: I’m Not Contesting In 2019

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has ruled out the possibility of contesting any position in 2019.

He said that his task was to work with like minds to wrest power from the current political leadership in Kwara State.

Mohammed spoke on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Ilorin, the state capital.

He urged Kwarans and the electorate to remain united, adding that they could take power from the current leadership in the state.

Though he did not specifically mention the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, observers of politics in the state described Saraki as the leader of the current ruling class in the state.

The state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, National Assembly members from the state and 23 of their colleagues in the state Assembly, including the Speaker, Dr Ali Ahmad, and other stakeholders in Saraki’s camp recently defected with him to the Peoples Democratic Party from the All Progressives Congress. Only one state lawmaker, Saheed Popoola, remained with the APC.

Mohammed said, “I can tell you that if we all remain united, we can’t and we won’t lose the looming battle for the survival of our dear state. All that is required is for us all to subordinate our individual ambitions to the collective efforts, work to wrest our state from the hegemony of one man and his cohorts.

“On my own part, I can say here, without equivocating, that I won’t be running for any office during the forthcoming elections. For me, it is not about any clamour for office. It is about working with all like minds for the greater benefit of our people.”