10 APC Governorship Aspirants Urge Tinubu to Resist Pressure to Endorse Kwara Candidate Through Traditional Rulers

 

By Our Political Editor

Ten governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resist any attempt to use traditional rulers in the state to secure presidential endorsement for the party’s governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 election.

In an open letter addressed to the President, the aspirants expressed concern over an alleged planned visit by some traditional rulers from Kwara State to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, which they claimed was aimed at obtaining the President’s backing for what they described as a flawed and imposition of unpopular governorship.

The aspirants, who had earlier rejected the emergence of the party’s governorship candidate, said the traditional institution should not be drawn into partisan politics or used to validate what they termed an “exclusionary and undemocratic process.”

The letter was jointly signed by Dr. Oluwatoyin Tajudeen Alabi, Alhaji Tajudeen Audu, Barrister Dele Belgore (SAN), Hon. Omar Mohammed Bio, Dr. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa, Ambassador Yahaya Seriki Gambari, Captain Ahmad Mahmud, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Dr. Azeez Salako Muideen Olaniyi and Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe.

The aspirants maintained that they remained loyal members of the APC but insisted that the process that produced the party’s governorship flagbearer lacked credibility and failed to reflect the wishes of party members across the state.

According to them, using traditional rulers to seek presidential endorsement for the candidate would compromise the neutrality and integrity of the traditional institution.

“The throne of our royal fathers is not a rubber stamp for an unpopular selection,” the aspirants stated, adding that traditional rulers are fathers to all Kwarans regardless of political affiliation.

They argued that the traditional institution should remain above partisan politics and warned that involving royal fathers in internal party disputes could undermine the moral authority of the institution.

 

 

The aspirants also questioned the rationale behind the alleged visit, noting that similar delegations were not organised to seek federal intervention during periods of insecurity in parts of Kwara State, including Baruten, Kaiama, Patigi, Edu, Ifelodun, Irepodun and Isin local government areas.

They recalled that several communities had suffered attacks from bandits and other criminal elements, including the killing of a traditional ruler, yet no delegation of royal fathers was reportedly mobilised to Abuja to seek urgent federal intervention.

The signatories further noted that despite the appointment of several Kwarans into key federal positions under the Tinubu administration, including the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), no similar delegation was organised to appreciate the President.

The aspirants appealed to President Tinubu to receive the traditional rulers, if the visit eventually takes place, strictly in their capacity as custodians of culture and fathers of the state rather than as advocates for any political interest.

They also urged the President not to confer presidential endorsement on a governorship selection process they claimed had been rejected by ten aspirants and a significant segment of the party.

The group further called on the President to ensure that the traditional institution in Kwara State is insulated from partisan manipulation and to encourage the APC in the state to embrace what they described as a credible, inclusive and democratic process in resolving its internal disputes.

“The APC in Kwara can still be saved from implosion, but not if the throne is sacrificed to legitimise what the grassroots have rejected,” the aspirants stated.

The development is the latest in the lingering disagreement within the Kwara APC following the emergence of the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election, with several aspirants continuing to challenge the process that produced the candidate.