By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The reelection bid of Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has received a major boost from hundreds of members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), as well as artisans, in the state, who pledged their unalloyed support to his administration and his second term bid considering his administration’s sterling performance in the last three and a half years.

The transport workers and artisans in their numbers, led by their leaders, on Sunday, had converged on their various parks and workshops in Ilorin, the state capital, where they publicly burnt the branded caps given to them by leaders of the State’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The red caps of the opposition PDP were branded with their campaign slogan of ‘O su wa’, which means, ‘we are tired’. By ‘O su wa’, the PDP is trying to create the impression that the people are tired of Governor AbdulRazaq’s administration. The caps had earlier been given to the transporters by the PDP leaders to to solicit their support ahead of the 2023 elections, particularly the governorship election in the state.

Intriguingly, however, the transporters, led by the Chairman of the Task Force Committee of the Union in the state, Alhaji Taiye Olose, said: “We are burning the caps to show that the PDP led by former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and his party, the PDP, have been rejected in their bid to reclaim the reins of leadership in Kwara state.

“The PDP has nothing new to offer Kwarans after ruling for 16 years with nothing to show for it before they were sent packing in the 2019 polls.”

Olose reiterated that, ‘ko su a wa o’, meaning that, for their part, they are not tired of Governor AbdulRazaq’s administration, amid the burning of the ‘O su wa’ caps, with cheers from his ecstatic and jubilant comrades at the Post Office area, venue of one the centres the burning operations were carried out. The transporters were chanting: “Ko su wa o, Ramoni, ma se lo,” meaning that they are not tired of Governor AbdulRazaq’s administration and that he should be given the second chance to continue with his good work. The transporters were seen ecstatically scrambling for the blue caps with the APC logo.

It would be recalled that the transport unions in the state had variously lauded the Governor on good governance, pledging their support to him.

Checks by this medium revealed that both the transporters and artisans in the state had earlier resolved to reject the PDP and support the APC in the 2023 polls in Kwara state.

Interestingly, the transporters had at their different parks on the new year eve and new year day sung in solidarity with incumbent Governor AbdulRazaq, the governorship candidate of the APC in state.