A Somber State of Mourning: Legacy Group Convenor Challenges Transparency of Kwara APC Primary After Speaker Danladi’s Sudden Declaration
The internal friction within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has escalated into a public confrontation over the legitimacy of its 2027 governorship candidate, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi-Salihu. While the official party structure insists the process was completely sound, critical stakeholders argue that the declaration has plunged the state's party base into an absolute state of mourning.
Appearing on Arise News’ The Morning Show, Abdul Majjid Abdullahi, the Convenor of the Legacy 2027 Kwara Continuity Movement, forcefully questioned the core democratic principles of the primary. He revealed that what began as a grassroots voting process was abruptly hidden from party members, only to culminate in a unilateral announcement at a banquet hall in Ilorin.
The Disrupted Ward Elections: A Broken Process?
According to Abdullahi, the political atmosphere in Kwara State initially pointed toward an organic transition of power. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had openly praised and endorsed Ambassador Yahaya Fatai Seriki Gambari as a grounded, level-headed philanthropist capable of driving the state’s long-term developmental agenda.
However, the democratic machinery completely derailed on June 21 during the primary election. Abdullahi detailed a sequence of administrative disruptions that left voters stranded and empty-handed:
Thursday, June 21: Party members turned out en masse to cast their votes at their respective wards. At roughly noon, while collation was in full swing, the APC State Publicity Secretary released a sudden announcement postponing the entire process.
Friday, June 22: Voters returned to their wards to complete the exercise as instructed, yet official election materials failed to materialize by mid-day.
The Sudden Shift: At 12:30 PM, the publicity secretary broadcasted an urgent invite summoning all aspirants and stakeholders to the Banquet Hall in Ilorin. It was there that the Senator Musiliu Obanikoro-led primaries committee declared the incumbent Speaker, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, as the winner.
"The real issue agitating the minds of Kwara citizens is to say: where did the votes upon which the said candidate was declared emerge from?" Abdullahi demanded. "Where are the votes that were collected at the ward level? Who witnessed them? Which agent signed the result forms? When a process starts and votes are cast, the people deserve clarity on what happened to their participation."
Forgetting the Hard Lessons of the "Otoge" Era
Beyond the immediate administrative failures, the Legacy 2027 group warns that the selection of Danladi-Salihu lacks the popular public support required to retain power against an increasingly organized opposition. Abdullahi stressed that Ambassador Seriki Gambari possessed a rare emotional connection with the grassroots that was built through long-standing philanthropy outside of election seasons, whereas the current candidate has been met with cold indifference.
"The Otoge revolution that brought this government into power was a revolution explicitly against the predetermination of leaders in the state," Abdullahi concluded. "The question these elders are asking is: seven years after, are we still in solidarity with that democratic culture, or have we now switched sides to mimic those we pushed out of governance?"
While the state chapter of the APC has dismissed the dissenting elders as unrecognized interlopers who lack official party standing, the open defiance from the Legacy 2027 coalition shows that the battle to succeed Governor AbdulRazaq is far from settled.
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