Kwara APC Crisis Deepens As Elders Disagree On Governorship Candidate

Elders within the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have reportedly disagreed over the emergence of Yakubu Salihu Danladi as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election.

Naija News understands that while one group rejected Danladi’s candidature and called for the intervention of President Bola Tinubu and the national leadership of the party, another group defended the outcome of the governorship primary and insisted that Danladi remains the party’s candidate.

The disagreement has further exposed divisions within the ruling party in the state ahead of the 2027 governorship contest.

The first group, reportedly led by its chairman, Chief James Bamisaiye Ayeni, said it decided to speak publicly after exhausting internal mechanisms within the party.

Other members of the caucus included Senators Mohammed Ahmed and Makanju Ajadi, as well as a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Salman Jawondo, SAN.

According to Daily Trust, the elders argued that Danladi lacked the statewide appeal, acceptability and political strength needed to unite the party and confront what they described as an increasingly resurgent opposition in Kwara State.

“We do not believe that the purported emergence of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Salihu Danladi as the APC governorship candidate represents the strongest political option available to the party at this critical moment,” the group said.

According to them, their position was not based on personal grievances but on concerns over the electoral chances of the APC in the next governorship election.

The caucus also accused Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of failing to provide President Tinubu and the APC national leadership with what it called “an accurate assessment of political realities in the state.”

The elders warned that the future of the party in Kwara should not be tied to personal interest or political ego.

“The future of the APC is too important to be subordinated to the ambitions or the personal ego of the Governor or any other person for that matter,” the caucus stated.

They further alleged that endorsements and campaigns in support of Danladi’s candidature were being used to create a false impression that he enjoyed widespread acceptance among party stakeholders.

The group appealed to President Tinubu, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, and members of the National Working Committee to review the circumstances surrounding Danladi’s emergence as the party’s governorship candidate.

However, another group, APC Kwara Elders, rejected the position of Ayeni’s caucus and declared support for Danladi’s candidature.

The group maintained that the governorship primary was valid and reaffirmed Danladi’s emergence as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election.

Members of the group included senior government officials, among them the Senior Adviser and Counsellor to the Governor of Kwara State, Sa’adu Salaudeen; the Special Adviser on Media, Bashir Adigun; other senior aides; and members of the State House of Assembly.

Addressing journalists in Ilorin, the State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Agenda Ambassadors, Abdullateef Gidado Alakawa, who spoke on behalf of the group, dismissed members of the opposing caucus as persons not recognised by the APC structure in the state.

Alakawa described the critics of Danladi’s candidature as “interlopers,” insisting that they lacked the authority to speak for the party in Kwara State.

He said the party’s recognised structure had taken a position on the governorship primary and that attempts to discredit the process would not stand.

The group argued that Danladi’s emergence followed due process and remained acceptable to members of the party who participated in the internal democratic process.

It also urged party members to ignore what it described as attempts to create unnecessary tension within the APC.

The disagreement comes as political activities gradually gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Danladi, a former Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, is being projected by his supporters as the party’s candidate to retain power in the state.

But the public opposition by some elders has raised fresh questions about internal cohesion within the ruling party and the level of consensus around his candidature.

Both camps, however, maintained that their positions were aimed at protecting the interests of the APC ahead of the next governorship election.