The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, says a newspaper report quoting him as asking Kwarans to vote for candidates of their choice was a misrepresentation of his views.
In a statement issued in response to a newspaper publication on Friday, Ahmed said while he as Chief Security Officer of the state encouraged Kwarans to come out en masse to vote in Saturday’s election without fear for their safety, he was exercising his duty to facilitate and assure the people of their security.
The governor, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Dr. Muideen Akorede, dismissed the newspaper’s account as an inaccurate representation of his views expressed during the last State Security Committee meeting.
Ahmed said on the contrary, his strong support for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Rt. Hon. Abdulrazak Atunwa, as the most competent to succeed him as governor is clear, having travelled across the state to campaign with and for the candidate.
While reaffirming his support for Atunwa, who he described as the only candidate with the right combination of competence, capacity and public sector experience to effectively govern Kwara State, Ahmed urged all Kwarans to elect the former speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly as the next governor of Kwara State.
Ahmed also described reports of a conflict between him and Atunwa in the run-up to the election as fake news that has been hatched and circulated by the opposition, knowing that Atunwa is the preferred candidate in the election.
Ahmed, therefore, called on Kwarans to vote based on capacity and competence as demonstrated by Atunwa rather than negative propaganda and fake news.