From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
Former Kwara State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Rotimi Illiasu, has explained that he approached the court to challenge his replacement as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate for Kwara North, because he won the party’s ticket through a primary election and would not surrender the mandate freely given to him by party members.
Illiasu, who was initially declared winner of the PDP senatorial primary for Kwara North ahead of the January election, was subsequently replaced by Kolo Jiya, following political negotiations between the PDP leadership and aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The negotiations reportedly involved the allocation of some PDP tickets to the aggrieved APC members as part of an arrangement to secure their support for the opposition party in the forthcoming election.
Speaking during an interview with members of the Kwara Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Illiasu said he rejected pressure to relinquish his ticket because his emergence through a properly conducted primary election was different from the arrangements that produced candidates in the other two senatorial districts.
Related News
According to him, while candidates in Kwara Central and Kwara South allegedly emerged through consensus arrangements and were understood to be holding the tickets temporarily, he secured his ticket through an election in which he participated and emerged victorious.
He maintained that he could not be expected to surrender a ticket that represented the mandate of PDP members in Kwara North.
Illiasu explained that he stood his ground despite interventions by party leaders, including the leader of the PDP in the state, former Senate President Bukola Saraki.
He said Saraki expressed displeasure over his refusal to relinquish the ticket, particularly as the other senatorial candidates had reportedly agreed to step aside.
However, Illiasu said he explained to the former Senate President that his situation was different because he had won through a primary election and was not merely a placeholder for the party.
He added that Saraki maintained that the party’s decision to replace him remained final but told him he was free to approach the court if he was dissatisfied with the decision.
Illiasu said his decision to institute legal proceedings was not merely about retaining the senatorial ticket but also about demonstrating that aggrieved individuals could seek justice through the courts.
“I went to court for justice. I went to court for people to know that justice could be secured in court. If I lose, so be it, but if I win, then Allah has decreed,” he said.
The former commissioner also raised concerns over what he described as the longstanding marginalisation of Moro Local Government Area in the distribution of National Assembly positions in Kwara North.
He alleged that Moro was the only one of the five local government areas in the senatorial district that had never produced a member of either the Senate or the House of Representatives.
Illiasu said his position on the disputed ticket was also informed by the need to challenge what he considered an unfair political arrangement and defend the electoral mandate he secured from party members.
