A major disagreement has broken out within the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives All Progressives Congress,APC, with the party’s Elders Caucus publicly challenging Governor AbdulRazaq over the handling of the governorship primary and the emergence of House of Assembly Speaker Salihu Yakubu Danladi as the party’s candidate.
At a press conference in Ilorin on Monday, the Kwara APC Elders Caucus accused the governor of backing what it described as an unpopular and improperly produced candidacy, warning that the decision could weaken the party ahead of the next election.
The caucus said the crisis followed the governorship primary originally scheduled for May 21, 2026, but later shifted to the following day. According to the elders, the process that eventually produced Danladi left party members and stakeholders deeply dissatisfied, with many questioning both its credibility and outcome.
In a statement read by the caucus chairman, Sir Chief James Bamisaiye Ayenioye, the elders said they were “amazed, very disturbed and concerned” that Governor AbdulRazaq, as leader of the APC in Kwara State, singularly scripted Danladi’s emergence and presented him to the party’s national leadership as the governorship candidate.
Others at the press conference include High Chief J. Bamidele Ayeni, Senator Ahmed Mohammed, Chief Lanre Ogundeji, Chief Bisi Oloruntoba, Barr. Teju Oguntoye, Hon. Abdullah Katibi, Barr. Salman Jawondo, Senator Suleiman Makanjuola Ajadi,and Asiwaju Ayo Samuel.
The elders alleged that critical stakeholders, including aspirants, party leaders and key political office holders, were not adequately consulted before decisions were taken. They said that exclusion had widened internal discontent and exposed a growing gulf between the governor and influential blocs within the party.
While stressing that they had no personal grievance against Danladi, the caucus argued that he was not the most broadly acceptable or politically viable option available to the APC in Kwara State. They said he lacked the statewide appeal needed to unite the party, win over undecided voters and confront what they described as a strengthening opposition.
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The statement suggested that the dispute was no longer about personal ambition but about the party’s electoral future. The elders warned against what they called the assumption that the APC could present “any candidate” and still secure victory, insisting that political realities in the state had changed.
They also took direct aim at the governor’s political judgment, saying he ought to have given the APC national leadership and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a more realistic account of the mood within the state chapter. According to the caucus, the picture being presented outside Kwara did not reflect the true level of resistance to the current candidate.
In one of the sharpest parts of the statement, the elders alleged that attempts were being made by some elements in the Presidency to impose an unpopular option on the party. They urged the APC leadership at the national level to intervene, engage more widely with stakeholders in Kwara and place the long-term survival of the party above personal interests and political calculations.
Despite the strong criticism, the caucus reaffirmed its loyalty to President Tinubu and restated its support for his Renewed Hope Agenda.
The public intervention marks one of the clearest signs yet of a serious internal rift in the Kwara APC, with the party’s elders now openly at odds with Governor AbdulRazaq over his one-man show and lack of respect for party leaders in the choice of its governorship standard-bearer.
Crediblenewsng.com
