Kwara APC crisis: Traditional rulers, party members loyal to Gov AbdulRazaq arrive in Abuja to lobby for Danladi

Selected first-class traditional rulers and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) loyal to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in Kwara State have arrived in Abuja to further push for the candidacy of Speaker Salihu Yakubu Danladi ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

The delegation, comprising monarchs from Kwara North and Kwara South as well as key political figures within the ruling party, departed Ilorin on Monday morning aboard an Overland Airways flight that left at about 8:45 a.m. and landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, around 9:25 a.m.

Sources familiar with the movement told The Informant247 that the delegation proceeded directly from the airport to a hotel in the Federal Capital Territory, where accommodation had been arranged ahead of a series of engagements expected to commence shortly.

The development follows an exclusive report by Confidence News Nigeria on Sunday, which revealed plans by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s camp to mobilise selected first-class traditional rulers and a high-powered delegation of APC stakeholders to Abuja to consolidate support for Danladi’s candidacy before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the national leadership of the party.

According to the report, the traditional rulers were drawn from Kwara North and Kwara South and were expected to reinforce arguments in support of Danladi’s emergence amid growing opposition from some APC governorship aspirants and stakeholders.

The newspaper further reported that some highly placed royal fathers had been engaged ahead of the party primaries to persuade the Presidency to accept Danladi’s candidacy despite reservations expressed in some quarters.

It also described the Abuja mission as a coordinated lobbying effort by Governor AbdulRazaq’s political camp, with insiders claiming the governor had secured strong backing within his camp for Danladi as his preferred successor.

Sources cited by the newspaper said arrangements had been concluded for members of the delegation to travel discreetly from Ilorin, with one insider quoted as saying, “We want to ensure that nobody knows who is travelling.”

Although the full list of delegates has not been officially released, Confidence News Nigeria identified APC State Chairman Prince Sunday Fagbemi, former PDP State Secretary Hon. Razak Lawal, and Chairman of the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority Abdulatif Alakawa among those expected to participate in the consultations.

The report added that the delegation was expected to meet the APC National Chairman, members of the National Working Committee, and the Attorney-General of the Federation as part of efforts to secure support for the governor’s position on the party’s governorship ticket.

It also recalled earlier claims that Danladi’s name had been submitted to INEC and that 10 governorship aspirants had collapsed their structures to present a common position to President Tinubu.

While details of the meetings in Abuja were not immediately available as of press time, the arrival of the traditional rulers and party elders signals a new phase in the political manoeuvring over the APC governorship ticket in Kwara State.

‘AbdulRazaq has lost moral, political authority to determine APC’s future in Kwara’ — 10 guber aspirants write Tinubu

The development comes barely days after 10 APC governorship aspirants wrote President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, warning that the party was facing a deepening internal crisis in Kwara State ahead of the 2027 elections.

In the June 19 letter, jointly signed by Senator Saliu Mustapha, Ambassador Yahaya Seriki Gambari, Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe, Dele Belgore (SAN), Dr. Bashir Bolarinwa, Capt. Ahmad Mahmud and others, the aspirants accused Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of alienating key stakeholders and weakening the coalition that brought the APC to power in 2019.

They argued that the governor had lost what they described as the moral and political authority to determine the future of the party in the state, and urged President Tinubu to intervene in the succession process.

They also raised concerns over what they described as the announcement of results from governorship primaries that did not hold, calling for a review of the process and the emergence of a consensus candidate capable of restoring unity within the party.

While pledging support for any candidate endorsed by the President and accepted by the party, the aspirants warned that the APC’s electoral prospects in Kwara could be severely weakened if the current trajectory continues.

The arrival of the traditional rulers and party elders in Abuja is being viewed as the latest move in the widening contest over the APC governorship ticket and efforts to influence the party’s national leadership ahead of 2027.

Danladi dragged to court

The tension has also taken a legal dimension following a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging Danladi’s nomination.

A civil society organisation, Citizens Awareness Against Corruption and Social Vices Initiative, dragged the All Progressives Congress, Danladi, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the court over alleged double nomination during the party’s 2026 primary elections.
In suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1112/2026, the group is asking the court to determine whether Danladi’s participation in both the APC governorship primary and the House of Assembly primary for Ilesha/Gwanara Constituency in the same election cycle is constitutional under the Electoral Act, 2026.

The plaintiff alleged that Danladi was screened and cleared for the House of Assembly primary held on May 20, 2026, while also participating in the governorship primaries conducted on May 21 and May 22, 2026.

It is asking the court to declare his nomination, screening, clearance and participation in both exercises a violation of the Electoral Act and to nullify his governorship candidacy.

The group is also seeking an order restraining INEC from recognising or publishing Danladi’s name as APC governorship candidate if the suit succeeds.