Elders in 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.
It was understood 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.
It has also exposed divisions in the ruling party in the state ahead of the 2027 governorship race.
The first group, led by its chairman, Chief James Bamisaiye Ayeni, said it decided to speak out publicly after exhausting internal mechanisms within the party.
Other members of the caucus were Senators Mohammed Ahmed and Makanju Ajadi, and a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Salman Jawondo, SAN.
According to Daily Trust, the elders said Danladi lacked the statewide appeal, acceptability and political strength to unify the party and face a fast resurgent opposition in Kwara State.
“We do not think that the alleged emergence of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Salihu Danladi as the APC governorship candidate is the strongest political option available to the party at this critical moment,” the group stated.
They said their position was not out of personal grudges but out of concern for the electoral chances of the APC in the next governorship election.
The caucus also accused Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of not giving President Tinubu and the APC national leadership what it described as “an accurate assessment of political realities in the state.”
The elders warned against tying the future of the party in Kwara to personal interest or political ego.
“The future of the APC is too important to be subordinated to the ambition or the personal ego of the Governor or any other person for that matter,” the caucus said.
They also accused that endorsements and campaigns in support of Danladi’s candidature were being employed to create a false impression that he had a broad acceptance among party stakeholders.
The group called on President Tinubu, the National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and members of the National Working Committee to review the circumstances that led to the emergence of Danladi as the party’s governorship candidate.
However, another group, APC Kwara Elders, rejected the caucus position of Ayeni and declared support for Danladi’s candidature.
The group insisted the governorship primary was valid and reaffirmed Danladi’s emergence as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election.
The group was made up of senior government officials including the Senior Adviser and Counsellor to the Governor of Kwara State, Sa’adu Salaudeen, Special Adviser on Media, Bashir Adigun, other senior aides and members of the State House of Assembly.
The State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Agenda Ambassadors, Abdullateef Gidado Alakawa, told journalists in Ilorin that the members of the opposing caucus are not recognised by the APC structure in the state.
Alakawa said the critics of Danladi’s candidature were “interlopers” who had no right to speak for the party in Kwara.
He said the party’s recognised structure had spoken on the governorship primary and that attempts to discredit the process would not stand.
The group said Danladi’s emergence was through due process and was acceptable to members of the party that joined in the internal democratic process.
It also urged party members to disregard what it described as attempts to stoke needless tension within the APC.
The difference is emerging as political activities slowly start to gather steam ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Danladi, a former Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, has been touted by his supporters as the party’s candidate to retain power in the state.
However, the public opposition from some elders has raised fresh doubts about internal cohesion within the ruling party and the level of consensus around his candidature.
However, both camps were adamant their positions were for the interest of the APC ahead of the next governorship election.
