Kwara APC Crisis Deepens As Chieftain Defends Danladi’s Governorship Ticket

The crisis rocking the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has taken a fresh turn as a party chieftain and public affairs analyst, Musa Idris Buko, defended the emergence of the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Salihu Yakubu-Danladi, as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election.

Buko, who spoke on Arise Television’s The Morning Show, dismissed claims that the state had entered a “mourning period” following Danladi’s emergence, insisting that the outcome of the primary reflected a broader demand for political inclusion, fairness and justice.

Naija News reports that Danladi’s emergence has divided elders and stakeholders within the Kwara APC, with one camp endorsing his candidacy and defending Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq against allegations of imposition, while another caucus rejected the process as flawed and lacking legitimacy.

Last week, an APC chieftain in the state, AbdulMajid Abdullahi, appeared on the same programme, where he criticised the outcome of the primary and raised concerns over the internal process that produced Danladi.

‘Kwara North has been excluded’

Speaking during the interview, Buko said the agitation for Kwara North to produce the next governor was rooted in the political history of the state.

According to him, Kwara State, created in 1967, has three senatorial districts, Kwara Central, Kwara North and Kwara South, but Kwara North has remained largely excluded from the governorship seat.

He said, “Kwara Central senatorial district has had the seat of governorship for over 19 years now, to be completed 20 years in 2027, and Kwara South senatorial district has had the opportunity for eight years.

“Kwara North senatorial district, which constitutes the second largest demography of Kwara State, the largest landmass of Kwara State and the economic backbone of Kwara State, has not had the opportunity to be governor.”

Buko added that the district had only produced a governor for about 22 months before the administration was truncated by a military coup.

He maintained that the demand for power shift to Kwara North had gone beyond partisan politics, describing it as a “people’s movement” supported by political actors, traditional rulers, artisans and stakeholders across the state.

APC primary was democratic  Buko

The APC chieftain said the primary, which he noted was held on May 22, produced a clear winner following what he described as a democratic process.

He said the backlash that followed the exercise could be traced to four categories of people.

According to him, the first group comprises supporters of the “One Kwara Project 2027,” who believe Kwara belongs to all its people and that political inclusion is necessary.

He described the second group as “sectional supremacists” who want one part of the state to continue controlling political power, while the third group, according to him, consists of “gerontocrats” who believe everything must align with their choices.

He added that the fourth group consists of those with a “rocking the boat mindset.”

Buko said, “If it is not me, then everything should go down the drain. The majority of Kwarans across the three senatorial districts are pleased and happy.”

He also commended President Bola Tinubu, the APC leadership and Governor AbdulRazaq for allowing what he called democratic inclusion for a “critically marginalised” part of the state.

“It is not true that Kwara has gone into mourning mode. The people that are mourning presently are the category of people I have told you about,” he said.

Aggrieved aspirants urged to accept party supremacy

Asked about the way forward amid the division, Buko urged aggrieved stakeholders to accept party supremacy and work for unity ahead of the 2027 election.

He said, “The way forward is to accept party supremacy, to know that the person that emerged, somebody must emerge. All of us cannot have a position.

“We have 35 elective positions in Kwara State and we have over 160 aspirants.”

He appealed to the President, the governor and the national leadership of the APC to intervene and reconcile aggrieved members, saying the party still needed everyone ahead of the election.