Reconcile Kwara APC stakeholders, group urges AbdulRazaq

A Kwara-based socio-political group, Orisun Igbomina, has urged Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to deepen political inclusion and reconcile aggrieved stakeholders within the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group said the outcome of the recent governorship election in Osun State offered important lessons for political leaders in Kwara, particularly on the power of the electorate and the need for political parties to maintain strong grassroots connections.

In a statement on Sunday signed by its National President, Chief Gbenga Awoyale, and made available to Arewa PUNCH, the group described the Osun election as a “significant victory for democracy” and a reminder that political power ultimately belongs to the people.

According to Orisun Igbomina, the Osun experience demonstrated that political influence and government structures cannot permanently substitute for the acceptance of the electorate.

“The Osun experience has once again demonstrated that the ultimate power in a democracy belongs to the people. Despite the deployment of political influence and state structures, the people of Osun stood firmly by their conviction and defended their choice,” the group said.

The organisation urged political actors in Kwara to reflect on the development, recalling the ‘2019 O To Ge movement’, which it said remained a powerful reminder of the ability of citizens to alter political arrangements through the ballot.

It urged that the movement should not be reduced to the preservation of any particular administration but should be remembered for the values of inclusion, fairness, consultation, internal democracy and opposition to political monopolisation.

The group which specifically appealed to AbdulRazaq to engage aggrieved members of the APC and address concerns surrounding the party’s internal affairs, stressed,

“We therefore urge the governor to make himself more accessible to his political family, listen to aggrieved stakeholders and empower those entrusted with responsibilities to deliver meaningfully at the grassroots.”

Orisun Igbomina said the emergence of the G15 within the Kwara APC should not be dismissed merely as an agitation by politicians who failed to secure political positions, even as it argued that the composition of the group and the concerns raised by its members warranted serious engagement by the party leadership.

The group emphasised, “While individual interests may exist, the scale and composition of the current discontent require serious engagement. Many of those involved participated in the ‘O To Ge’ struggle because they believed in its ideals of inclusion, fairness, consultation, internal democracy and an end to political monopolisation. Their concerns deserve dialogue, not dismissal,” the statement added.

It further urged the governor to strengthen relationships with political appointees, party leaders, elected representatives and grassroots stakeholders, saying effective governance required empowering those entrusted with responsibilities.

It pointed out that only a governor who maintains strong relationship with members of his political family would be better positioned to build a grassroots structure based on confidence and genuine participation rather than government positions alone.

The organisation, while also warning against intimidation, exclusion, imposition and factionalism as the 2027 elections approach, declared that reconciliation should not be viewed as a sign of weakness, but as an indication of political maturity and an investment in the future of the ruling party.

“Political power, government machinery and influence may create an appearance of overwhelming strength, but citizens ultimately decide elections. There is no permanent political or ‘federal might’ capable of overriding a determined electorate,” it emphasised.

Thus, Orisun Igbomina called on the governor to use the remaining period of his administration to deepen inclusion, improve stakeholder engagement, empower members of his political family, restore confidence in the party’s internal processes and pursue genuine reconciliation.

The group maintained that the central lesson of the ‘O To Ge’ movement was that no political structure was greater than the people.

“The O To Ge movement was not merely about defeating one political establishment. Its deeper lesson was that no political structure is greater than the people.

“That principle must remain sacrosanct as Kwara prepares for 2027. Kwara belongs to all Kwarans, and its democratic future must never be sacrificed on the altar of individual ambition,” it maintained.