A delegation of royal fathers and key All Progressives Congress, APC, stakeholders loyal to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq arrived in Abuja on Monday as part of efforts to rally support for Speaker Salihu Yakubu Danladi’s governorship ambition ahead of the 2027 election.
Sources said the delegation, made up of monarchs from Kwara North and Kwara South as well as leading political figures in the ruling party, departed Ilorin aboard an Overland Airways flight at about 8:45 a.m. and landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, around 9:25 a.m.
The team was said to have moved from the airport to a hotel in the Federal Capital Territory, where accommodation had been arranged ahead of a series of political meetings.
Party sources said the trip was part of a lobbying effort by Governor AbdulRazaq’s camp to consolidate support for Danladi before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the national leadership of the APC.
The monarchs, according to the sources, were drawn into the move to strengthen the case for Danladi’s emergence amid resistance from some governorship aspirants and party stakeholders in the state.
Also Read: Kwara APC leaders reject Danladi as governorship choice
Some sources also said royal fathers had been engaged ahead of the party primaries to help persuade the Presidency to back Danladi’s candidacy despite reservations in some quarters.
The Abuja mission is being seen in political circles as a major move by the governor to secure support for his preferred successor as contest over the APC governorship ticket intensifies in Kwara.
A source familiar with the arrangements said the trip was organised quietly. “We want to ensure that nobody knows who is travelling,” the source said.
Among those said to be on the trip are APC State Chairman Prince Sunday Fagbemi, former PDP State Secretary Hon. Razak Lawal, and Chairman of the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, Abdulatif Alakawa.
Sources said the delegation met with the APC National Chairman, members of the National Working Committee and the Attorney-General of the Federation as part of consultations on the party’s governorship ticket in Kwara.
The development came days after 10 APC governorship aspirants wrote President Tinubu, warning of a deepening crisis in the party in Kwara ahead of the 2027 election.
In the June 19 letter, jointly signed by Senator Saliu Mustapha, Ambassador Yahaya Seriki Gambari, Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe, Dele Belgore (SAN), Dr. Bashir Bolarinwa, Capt. Ahmad Mahmud and others, the aspirants accused Governor AbdulRazaq of sidelining key stakeholders and weakening the coalition that brought the APC to power in the state in 2019.
They said the governor had lost the moral and political authority to determine the future of the party in the state and urged President Tinubu to intervene in the succession process.
The aspirants also questioned what they described as the announcement of results from governorship primaries that did not hold, and called for a review that would allow the emergence of a consensus candidate acceptable to party members.
They warned that the APC’s chances in Kwara could be threatened if the internal dispute is not resolved.
Meanwhile, the push for Danladi has also taken a legal turn following a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging his nomination.
A civil society organisation, Citizens Awareness Against Corruption and Social Vices Initiative, sued the APC, Danladi and the Independent National Electoral Commission over alleged double nomination during the party’s 2026 primary elections.
In suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1112/2026, the group asked the court to determine whether Danladi’s participation in both the APC governorship primary and the House of Assembly primary for Ilesha/Gwanara Constituency in the same election cycle is consistent with the Electoral Act, 2026.
The plaintiff alleged that Danladi was screened and cleared for the House of Assembly primary held on May 20, 2026, while also taking part in the governorship primaries conducted on May 21 and May 22, 2026.
It is asking the court to nullify his nomination, screening, clearance and participation in both exercises.
The latest Abuja consultations are expected to further shape the internal contest over the APC governorship ticket in Kwara as the party moves closer to the 2027 election.
Crediblenewsng.com
