Senator representing Kwara Central in the National Assembly, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, on Saturday, admonished candidates contesting the local government election in Kwara State to see it as a call to service if they win.
Mallam Mustapha further charged winners not to lower the bar of governance and expressed optimism that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would emerge victorious in the polls.
He spoke to journalists in Ilorin shortly after casting his vote at Ode-Kolawole polling booth 005, Gambari Ward One of Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, the victory of the party at the polls would encourage Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration to sustain the “good work and deliver democratic dividends to the people”.
He noted that the good performance of the Governor would manifest at the local government level and urged would-be candidates elected at the polls not to lower the bar.
The legislator expressed satisfaction with the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) for the “peaceful conduct of the elections across the statem.
Mustapha, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agricultural Production Services and Rural Development, said his findings showed that the elections provided an avenue for cordial electioneering process.
“May I first of all appreciate the people and also commend the state government and KWSIEC for the efforts put in place to have a peaceful and cordial environment for the polls.
“From my house down here, I discovered very peaceful atmosphere around, very cordial electioneering process going on, and I hope at the end of the day, we will have a very victorious one for my party, APC so that we can continue with the good work of the APC administration led by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who has just been conferred with the Sardauna of Ilorin, so that the good work and dividends of democracy can trickle down.
“I have always told people. For local government elections, no matter how you want to look at it, it is still the good work of the state government that will trickle down because they (elected council officials) are the people that will work and share the vision of the Governor.
“So, that is why for me, it is a support in total for the state government for whatever outcome that has been arrived at.
“I want to thank everybody, my brothers and sisters in this community. We have also observed a peaceful and cordial electioneering process. At the end of the day, it is a call to serve. I pray whoever emerges, will remember that it is a call to serve the people”, the Kwara Central Senator said.
On the pocket of hiccups in some polling booths, Mustapha said, “In every election, there is bound to be complaint. But so far so good, I’m really impressed with what has happened”.