By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin
Stakeholders in Kwara Central have expressed support for Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, following Senator Saliu Mustapha’s defection from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The stakeholders made their positions known separately through Hon. Ibrahim Sulyman Salah, councillor representing Gambari Ward 1 in Ilorin East Local Government Area, and Baba Gobir Abdullahi, chairman of Gambari Ward II and chairman of APC ward chairmen across the 193 wards in Kwara State.
Mustapha hails from Gambari Ward 1.
Salah spoke on behalf of stakeholders from Gambari Ward 1 and other communities across Kwara Central, while Gobir represented the 51 APC ward chairmen in the senatorial district.
Salah said the stakeholders’ position was based on their assessment of the performance of the AbdulRazaq administration.
“We are not here because of politics. We are here because the dividends of democracy are now visible, measurable and touching the lives of ordinary Kwarans,” he said.
He cited road construction, urban renewal, healthcare, education and economic empowerment as areas where the administration had, in their assessment, recorded progress.
According to Salah, 113.57 kilometres of roads had been completed in Kwara Central, while another 65.5 kilometres were ongoing.
He said the initiatives had also supported businesses, youths and vulnerable residents in the state.
Salah subsequently passed a vote of confidence in AbdulRazaq and urged the governor to sustain the pace of development, particularly by completing ongoing projects and expanding empowerment programmes for youths and women.
The stakeholders also pledged their support for AbdulRazaq, Danladi and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections.
Speaking separately, Gobir reaffirmed the support of the 51 APC ward chairmen in Kwara Central for AbdulRazaq, saying Mustapha’s defection would not weaken the party in the senatorial district.
He described the ward chairmen as the “engine room” of the APC in Kwara Central, noting that they were responsible for grassroots mobilisation and engagement with voters.
Gobir also disputed the suggestion that Mustapha’s 2023 electoral victory was achieved solely through his personal efforts, saying it was the result of the collective efforts of the APC, the leadership of AbdulRazaq and party members at the grassroots.
He described Mustapha’s defection as a personal political decision that, in his view, did not represent the position of voters across Kwara Central.
Gobir urged residents of the senatorial district not to be distracted by what he described as the “political tourism” of individuals who prioritise personal interests over the collective development of the people.
He said the APC remained committed to the welfare of Kwarans and urged voters to focus on what he described as the development recorded under the AbdulRazaq administration.
“Do not be distracted by the political tourism of individuals who prioritise their personal comfort over your collective progress. The APC remains the only party that puts the welfare of ordinary Kwarans at the centre of governance,” he said.
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