STAKEHOLDERS in the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have petitioned both President Muhammadu Buhari and the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to forestall a looming crisis in Kwara APC by stopping an attempt to substitute the name of Mr Kayode Alabi as APC Deputy governorship candidate in the March 2, 2019, gubernatorial election.
Both the Kwara South Senatorial District APC stakeholders and House of Assembly candidates on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State backed the choice of Alabi as running mate to Kwara APC governorship flag bearer, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak.
They warned that attempt by disloyal party members to replace Alabi with another person as a running mate may spell doom and be counter-productive to the success of APC at the polls next year.
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They, therefore, sought urgent Intervention of the President, the National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National Executive Committee of APC and other party organs to nip a pending crisis in the bud by standing by the list of Abdulrazak and Alabi already presented to INEC.
Rising from a critical meeting in Ilorin on Wednesday, stakeholders in Kwara South Senatorial district endorsed Kayode Alabi as the party’s governorship running mate.
Chairman and Secretary of the Kwara South Forum, Hon. Abdulrauf Ishola and Chief Gbadeyan Olaitan respectively said in a statement that “we in the South Senatorial District after a meeting with all APC candidates for the district in attendance agreed to support the choice of Mr Kayode Alabi as the Deputy governorship candidate of our party
” We stand by his choice and will resist any attempt from any quarters to substitute his name. Alabi is a young man full of energy, he is from Ifelodun Local Government. His choice alongside Abdulrazak, the governorship candidate is the best that the State can produce to defeat the PDP”.
In the same vein, House of Assembly candidates on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State condemned the alleged substitution of the name of Kayode Alabi as the deputy governor to the party’s flag bearer in next year’s gubernatorial election
The group, therefore, called on President Mohammadu Buhari and the party’s national leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu to ensure the wish of those genuinely struggling for the freedom of Kwara become successful by retaining the deputy governorship candidacy of Kayode Alabi.
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Speaking on behalf of the candidates, Hon. Owolabi Olatunde Razak noted that the substitution of Kayode Alabi will in no small way undermine the chances of the party’s victory in Kwara South Senatorial district in particular and the state as a whole in the forthcoming elections.
He stressed that while the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq is a Muslim of Ilorin descent in Kwara Central Senatorial District, Kayode Alabi, his running mate in the list submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a Christian from Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state, pointing that the local government constitute the largest voting bloc in Kwara South.
He described Kayode Alabi as an entrepreneur who has always been at the forefront of the fight for the liberation of Kwara from those who had turned the state into a family business and an astute grassroots politician of repute who commands massive support from his people.
The candidates maintained that if APC in Kwara makes the mistake of replacing Alabi’s name with another old man’s name as being alleged, it will be tantamount to digging its own grave ahead of the 2019 General Elections.
Hon. Owolabi Razak further pledged the House of Assembly candidates’ unrelenting determination to ensure the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state emerge victorious in all elections from ward Councillor to the re-election bid of President Mohammadu Buhari.
