Kwara PDP Alleges Political Clampdown as Kawu Says Billboard Can Be Removed, Not an Idea

 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State and its governorship candidate, Engr. Suleiman Bolakale Kawu, have condemned the reported removal of the party’s campaign billboards across Ilorin, alleging that the development reflects growing intolerance by the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq towards political opposition.

The latest controversy followed the removal on Wednesday of billboards bearing Kawu’s name and image at Agaka Community and Adabata Junction in Ilorin.

At Agaka, where the billboard was mounted around the family house of the PDP governorship candidate, government agents were reportedly seen pulling it down.

The PDP, in a statement issued by its State Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, alleged that agents of the state government, operating under the guise of the Kwara State Water Corporation, were mobilised to remove the billboard.

The party linked the development to the growing visibility of the PDP in the state, alleging that Governor AbdulRazaq was uncomfortable with opposition billboards ahead of his forthcoming turbanning ceremony, which is expected to attract political associates and guests.

According to the PDP, “Governor Abdulrazaq does not want his visitors to arrive for his next week ceremony and be confronted with the unmistakable political reality represented by the billboard of Engr. Suleiman BolaKale Kawu at Agaka and other PDP billboards in the state capital.”

The party said the reported presence of government agents at several locations in Ilorin to pull down its billboards indicated what it described as an increasing attempt to limit the visibility of the opposition.

It said, “The Governor must understand that Kwara people are not billboards. Their voices cannot be dismantled. Their political choices cannot be pulled down. Their support cannot be removed with government trucks and ladders.”

The latest incident came days after officials of the Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency (KWASAA) reportedly removed Kawu’s billboards mounted around the Geri Alimi Underpass bridge.

The removal subsequently triggered a dispute involving signage contractors, who raised concerns about alleged intimidation and interference by agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led state government.

Reacting to the development, Kawu described the reported removal of his campaign materials as a disturbing indication of intolerance towards legitimate political competition.

He urged Governor AbdulRazaq to engage the opposition through ideas, policies, programmes and performance rather than administrative actions aimed at reducing its political visibility.

“My name may be removed from a billboard, but my commitment to Kwara cannot be removed, nor can my aspiration to serve or the people’s right to choose their leaders,” Kawu said.

The PDP candidate maintained that removing his image from public spaces would not diminish his determination to contest the 2027 governorship election or prevent him from engaging with the people.

“You may remove a billboard, but you cannot remove an idea whose time has come,” he added.

Kawu stressed that Kwara belongs to all its citizens and should remain a state where competing political views can be expressed freely and peacefully.

The PDP similarly argued that the electorate had moved beyond campaign billboards, saying political choices were based on citizens’ experiences, convictions and assessment of the available candidates.

It further claimed that the growing acceptance of the PDP, the rising profile of Kawu and the goodwill of former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, could not be erased by removing campaign materials.

The opposition party therefore called on Governor AbdulRazaq to immediately halt what it described as political intimidation and direct government agencies to stop removing its legitimate campaign materials.

Rather than deploying government machinery to suppress opposition visibility, the PDP urged the governor to focus on issues affecting residents and prepare to face the electorate in 2027.

The state government had not, in the statements provided, offered its response to the allegations surrounding the billboard removals.