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The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State on Thursday held a crucial meeting with the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Victor Olaiya, to address concerns over the reported clampdown on party members following the recent local government elections.<\/p>\n

The meeting, which took place at the Kwara State Police Command headquarters, was initiated by the PDP leadership to clarify the party\u2019s position and express their concerns about the treatment of their members.<\/p>\n

During the meeting, the PDP leaders\u2014comprising Alhaji Ladi Hassan, former Chief of Staff to Bukola Saraki; former member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Sikirat Anako; former member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP and former Commissioner, Nimota Ibrahim; party elder, Alhaji Jimoh Adesina; former leader of the Kwara House of Assembly, Abdulrafiu Abdulrahman; and former Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, Tajudeen Alabi\u2014expressed their firm stance that the party, as the primary opposition in the state, is committed to upholding peace and ensuring the stability of Kwara State.<\/p>\n

They reassured the Commissioner of Police that the PDP has no intention of disrupting the peace or inciting unrest, despite being in opposition.<\/p>\n

However, they also emphasised the importance of allowing space for opposition voices to be heard without harassment or intimidation.<\/p>\n

The PDP leaders drew comparisons to their time in power, stating that while they were in office, they faced intense political opposition and propaganda, yet they ensured that the opposition had the freedom to operate without undue interference.<\/p>\n

Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Ladi Hassan, who led the PDP delegation, stated: \u201cIt\u2019s a simple visit just to let the CP know that we are not happy with some of the things happening in Kwara State.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs members of the opposition, we are interested in peace. We are not interested in trouble. We came to see the Commissioner of Police so that the police under his command could allow us some breathing space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they are harassing our people, we are not happy. One of our members is in prison now on unnecessary charges. Some of them were released this afternoon. We don\u2019t need all these things. When we were in government for almost 20 years, we tolerated the opposition,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Hassan further emphasized that during the PDP\u2019s time in power, the opposition was not subjected to such treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t harass anybody. We didn\u2019t jail anybody. We didn\u2019t send anybody to prison unduly. So why are our members being harassed? The government of the day should tolerate opposition. You cannot beat somebody and say that person should not cry. It\u2019s not possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in opposition and we have accepted our fate. We wait for another election. But you continue to harass our people. It\u2019s not proper. So that\u2019s why we have come here to see the CP, to express our dissatisfaction. And we\u2019re happy he spoke to us very well, and he received us very well, and he was happy that we are peace-loving people. One of our members, a former council chairman, is in jail now. He\u2019s in prison over trumped-up charges. So we don\u2019t want that kind of thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not go back to the olden days. Kwara State used to be very volatile, where you saw the government in power and the opposition chasing each other. We don\u2019t want to get back to that kind of situation. We should move forward. Every state is moving forward. We should move forward,\u201d Hassan remarked.<\/p>\n

Also, Honorable Tajudeen Alabi appealed to the Commissioner of Police to let peace reign among the political parties in Kwara State.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cMy advice to the Commissioner of Police is that he should let all the political parties see him as their Commissioner of Police. The opposition should be allowed some breathing space, and let peace reign in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

As political tension lingers following the local government polls, the meeting highlighted the PDP\u2019s push for fair treatment of opposition members and its concerns over maintaining the democratic space in Kwara State.<\/p>\n

The party leadership remains hopeful that their engagement with the police will result in a more peaceful and inclusive political atmosphere going forward, a statement by the party said in Ilorin on Friday.<\/p>\n

Kwara PDP leadership meets police commissioner over clampdown on members<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State on Thursday held a crucial meeting with the state…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1372,15,490,310,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kwara","category-news","category-pdp","category-police","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n