Saraki Receives Mustapha, Kolo, Urges Kwara PDP to Close Ranks Ahead of 2027
Former President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has called on members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State to put aside past differences and work together to reclaim political power in the state in the 2027 elections.
Saraki made the call in Ilorin while receiving Senator Saliu Mustapha, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP, and the party’s Kwara North Senatorial candidate, Dr Baba Giya Kolo, alongside their supporters.
Welcoming Mustapha and Kolo, Saraki described their decision to join and strengthen the PDP as a courageous step towards rebuilding and advancing Kwara State.
According to his Press Officer on Local Matters, Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, Saraki commended the two leaders and their supporters, urging PDP members across the state to embrace one another and work as a united political family.
He said the era of factions within the party should be over, stressing that members must accommodate one another across wards and Local Government Areas.
“There is no more G1 or G2; today, we belong to one big family and should operate as such,” Saraki said.
In a light-hearted remark, the former Senate President noted that Mustapha’s ability to recognise PDP members by their faces and names demonstrated his familiarity with the party’s structure and members.
Saraki urged the party’s leaders and candidates to remain focused on the 2027 elections, identifying the APC administration under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the common political opponent that PDP members must collectively confront at the polls.
He also emphasised the need for inclusive governance and equitable power-sharing, urging PDP candidates to remember the sacrifices of party members and ensure that the benefits of democracy reach the people when elected.
Mustapha, who is the Turaki Ngeri of Ilorin, recently resigned from the APC and joined the PDP before obtaining the party’s nomination form to contest the Kwara Central Senatorial District seat.
Kolo, known as the Hasken Patigi, is the PDP’s candidate for the Kwara North Senatorial District.
Speaking at the gathering, Mustapha expressed appreciation to the Saraki-led PDP family, the State Working Committee headed by Hon. Issa Adamu Bawa and party elders across the state for the warm reception extended to him and his supporters.
He pledged to work with other PDP members to challenge what he described as “the dictatorship of a monster who believes Kwara is his personal property estate.”
Mustapha urged PDP members to unite and end what he called the governor’s “shenanigans”, insisting that the people of Kwara must reclaim their political power.
He said the ultimate goal should be to establish a political culture in which every occupant of public office understands that “the power belongs to the people.”
The meeting is coming as political activities intensify in Kwara ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the PDP seeking to consolidate its structure and position itself as a major challenger to the ruling APC in the state.
