I am happy to have apologised to Saraki over Offa robbery — Popoola
By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin
The Kwara South senatorial candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Saheed Popoola, has expressed relief at finally apologising to former Senate President Bukola Saraki over the conspiracy that linked the former governor to the deadly Offa bank robbery seven years ago.
Previously, Popoola had openly admitted at the Palace of the Olofa of Offa to his role in the plot to implicate Saraki, reiterating on Friday that he stood firmly by his public confession.
Speaking during News Keg, an interactive media session organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Kwara State, the candidate stated that he owed his former leader an apology and thanked God for sparing his life to make amends.
Furthermore, Popoola explained that his genuine love for his constituents and the ruling All Progressives Congress’s (APC) complacent attitude towards worsening insecurity, which has seen widespread kidnappings force residents from their homes, prompted his defection to the PDP.
Outlining a three-point legislative agenda centred on security, infrastructure, and agriculture, the federal lawmaker hopeful pledged to lobby fellow senators to tackle regional insecurity and positioned himself as a dedicated advocate for the people of Kwara South.
Additionally, he lamented that dilapidated road networks actively facilitate kidnapping across the district, promising to establish a joint Yoruba-Fulani neighbourhood watch because local residents understand the terrain far better than deployed soldiers.
Regarding agricultural development, Popoola acknowledged that meaningful progress remains impossible until adequate security is restored to allow displaced farmers to safely return to their ancestral lands.
He urged the electorate to reject vote-buying by criticising rival politicians whom he described as intellectually bankrupt and lacking developmental ideas, insisting that voters must prove that money is not everything.
