End of road for Saraki as Oloriegbe wins

The acclaimed strong man of Kwara State politics and current Senate President Bukola Saraki has lost the Kwara Senatorial district election to the All Progressives Congress candidates, Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe.

In the four local government areas that constitute the Kwara Central Senatorial district, APC polled a total of 123, 808 votes while the Peoples Democratic Party polled 68, 994.

This partially brings down the political hegemony of Saraki which the opposition party has desperately desired to deflate.

The APC mantra of O to ge [meaning Enough is enough] has really become manifested but partially, for the battle of the soul of the state would be more pronounced at the governorship contest a couple of weeks ahead.

This is the first time the Sarakis would be losing an election in the heart of Kwara in decades, as his father, Dr Olusola Saraki, dominated the political space in the state before his demise, handing over the structure to Bukola, the most politically vibrant among his children.

The O to ge slogan implies rejection of Saraki’s political leadership, which the opposition had said brought nothing but poverty, tokenism, underdevelopment and gross infrastructural deficits into the state.

The breakdown of the results in the four local government shows that in Asa local government area, APC polled 15,932 while PDP polled 11, 252.

In Ilorin East, APC polled 30,014 while PDP polled 14, 654.

In Ilorin South, APC polled 26,331 while PDP got 13,013.

In Ilorin West, the stronghold of Saraki dynasty, APC polled 51,531 but PDP polled 30,075.