Kwara APC Stakeholders Alert Tinubu, Yilwatda On 2027 Election Risks

Some concerned stakeholders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State have alerted President Bola Tinubu and national chairman of the party, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, on the dwindling fortunes of APC ahead of the 2027 general election.

The concerned stakeholders made their position known in an open letter to Tinubu and Yilwatda signed by Hon. Olosasa Toyin, Comrade Onimaza Hamzat Ganeey and Hajia Abdulrahman Alabi.

In the letter made available to journalists at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the stakeholders alleged that Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, actions were responsible for the pending misfortune of APC.

The stakeholders said they are committed to the party and want President Tinubu to win the 2027 elections in Kwara State, hence he and APC national leadership must wade in for the governor to stop actions that are negatively affecting the party.

“We want to call your attention to how in Kwara State, the Governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq is pursuing policies, actions and measures that are inimical to the success of the party and adverse to its popularity among the people.

“Apart from his war of attrition against the elite across the state, he has also deliberately refused to endear himself to the ordinary people…His actions are de-marketing the APC. The situation has been made worse by the reckless manner in which the governor is prosecuting the politics of succession and the partisan process towards fielding candidates for the 2027 polls.

“He has refused to identify with the leadership and membership of the party since he became the biggest beneficiary of our efforts to win power for the progressives, a move that eventually succeeded in 2019.

“His recent move to forcefully influence who succeeds him and who gets what in the distribution of other positions towards 2027 is being resisted by party members. He has therefore resorted to using forceful, undemocratic and coercive measures by deploying security agencies against party leaders.

“The governor had initiated criminal litigations against some party leaders in order to force them to toe his line. Examples of such cases are the ones he filed against two prominent elder statesmen, Hon. Ilyasu Moro and Hon. Mashood Mustapha and other party loyalists.

“Again, he has frustrated all efforts by Senator Saliu Mustapha to execute several developmental projects as part of the legislator’s contributions to the district he represents,” the letter reads in parts.

The stakeholders further alleged that the governor anointed Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Danladi Yakubu, as his successor to cover up for him after his exit from office, hence Kwarans, both in the APC and outside it, view the governor’s Kwara North/Danladi Agenda as Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s Third Term Plan.

“However, as it is gradually becoming clear to the governor that leaders and members of the APC in the state and at the federal level will not follow him in his self-preservation agenda, he is becoming desperate and seeking diversionary tactics.

“His recent move against Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the Waziri of Ilorin, is perhaps one of the most unpopular measures he has ever taken. This move will not work well for the APC as it is already galvanising public support in favour of the opposition.

“As of today, like him or hate him, the Waziri is the most popular politician in the state. Thus, many voters in the state do not buy the gimmick that he had a role to play in the Offa robbery or any robbery incident, for that matter. It is an unpopular move. Though, he is in the opposition, we would have preferred that the APC government not take measures that would win sympathy for him and his party.

“We, the APC stakeholders, believe that though Saraki is not with us, we do not wish to be on the wrong side of public opinion and public perception by moving against him.

“Your Excellency, many Kwarans are interpreting Governor Abdulrazaq’s current move against Saraki as a war being indirectly waged by your good self. They are wondering whether the Kwara State Governor is acting on your behalf to decimate Saraki and that line of thought is creating tension across the state.

“This move against Saraki is unpopular. It is working against our party, the APC, and may affect our fortunes in the elections. Also, the case against Saraki is already creating needless tension in the various communities in the state.

“All these missteps and inactions should not be allowed to negatively affect the party’s fortune. So, we need to immediately and promptly checkmate this governor. We therefore appeal to Your Excellency to immediately call Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to order. He should not drag the party and its candidates in next year’s elections into the mud.

“Mr President, as the leader of the country and our party, we urge you to urgently step into the situation in Kwara State and ensure that no negative moves affect the plan of the APC to deliver the State to our dear party in 2027,” the letter added.