Kwara APC faction accuses governor of exclusion of members

Scores of All Progressives Congress (APC) members from Ilorin South local government have protested against an alleged plan by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to install transition implementation committee (TIC) chairmen in the 16 local government areas of the state without consulting APC executives.

Tenure of the 16 suspended local government chairmen in the state has expired.

The placard-carrying protesters, converged on the party council secretariat alleging that the governor had planned to pick members of the TIC from a group known as AA Forum.

APC has since the assumption of AbdulRazaq office been factionalised into two, with one loyal to the governor and the other to Bashir Bolairnwa.

AA Forum is peopled by loyalists of the governor.

The protesting APC members from were led by chairmen and other executives from the eleven wards of the council.

Some of the placards read: ‘APC is a party,’ ‘AAP is a forum,’ ‘Ilorin South Ward chairmen, executives and elders dissociate from TIC purported list,’ ‘Ilorin South APC party structure says no to uninformed TIC,’ “Ilorin South APC condemns TIC selection process.’

The Chairman of the ward chairmen, Prince Adegboye Adegboyega, said “it is no more a news that the governor has released an instruction to all his AA forum followers to bring the candidates of their choice as the local government caretaker committee. It is very unfortunate that, the governor did not work in collaboration with the state, local and ward executives of the party on the TIC selection process.”

Adegboyega expressed the council’s dissatisfaction to the TIC selection process, urging Abdulrasaq not to create chaos in the party.

He said: “It is annoying to know that the governor who supposed to be the leader of the party in the state is recognising AA as forum, against the party structure.

Also commenting, an elder of the party Alhaji Bakare Idiagbon condemned process by which the selection is being carried out.

Idiagbon wondered why the governor would pick relatively known politicians to decide for the entire local government.

Another APC stalwart from the council, Chief Francis Okafor enjoined the state APC Chairman Bashir Bolarinwa and other party faithful to remind the governor that the mandate he his holding is for the entire APC members and not “AAP” forum alone.

“He cannot continue to favour few people at the detriment of majority of APC members in our local government,” Chief Okafor added.