By our correspondent
Concerned members of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Kwara State have petitioned President Bola Tinubu over the actions state Governor Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq that are targeted at disrupting the party in the state.
The group led by Hon. Olosasa Toyin stated this while addressing journalists at the APC National Headquarters in Abuja.
Hon. Toyin said the ‘O to ge’ movement that ended the era of Saraki’s political dynasty in 2019 is currently witnessing ill treatment from the state governor.
He said, “As I stand before you, we all fought for the cause of the “O To Ge” movement that brought the APC government into Kwara State. Today, most of the leaders and stakeholders of that movement have been pushed out of the party due to the way the governor is handling party affairs”.
“We remain committed members and want all our party’s candidates to win the 2027 elections, starting from the presidential level,”he said.
Hon. Toyin added that “the Governor is pursuing policies, actions and measures that are inimical to the success of the party and adverse to its popularity among the people. Apart from his war of attrition against the elite across the state, he has also deliberately refused to endear himself to the ordinary people”.
He continued, “While in recent times, the security crises in the state have been on the rise, the governor has shown no empathy by not being present at the scenes of the disaster. This insensitive posture has alienated him from the people and is rubbing off wrongly on the popularity of the party”.
“His actions are de-marketing the APC. The situation has been made worse by the reckless manner in which the governor is prosecuting the politics of succession and the partisan process towards fielding candidates for the 2027 polls.
“He has refused to identify with the leadership and membership of the party since he became the biggest beneficiary of our efforts to win power for the progressives, a move that eventually succeeded in 2019”, Hon. Toyin stated.
The group described the governor’s choice of Hon. Damladi Yakubu as his successor as unpopular.
“His choice of candidate to succeed him is the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Danladi Yakubu. This decision is however questionable as his motivation is not believed to be altruistic”.
Concerned Kwara APC leader therefore called on President Tinubu to urgently intervene in the party’s affairs in the state.
“Mr President, as the leader of the country and our party, we urge you to urgently step into the situation in Kwara State and ensure that no negative moves affect the plan of the APC to deliver the State to our dear party in 2027”, he said.
“We want our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to win in Kwara State and across Nigeria, down to the State House of Assembly.
“We are particularly concerned about the exodus of key figures and supporters of the “O To Ge” movement. Instead of pushing them out, we urge party leaders, the press, and Mr. President to intervene” he concluded.