2027 Elections In Kwara Are In The Hands And God – APC Chairman

In this interview with ABDULLAHI OLESIN, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, Prince Sunday Fagbemi discusses the alleged division within the party, the emergence of the APC’s governorship candidate, the G15 group, and the party’s prospects in the 2027 general elections. He insists that the APC will secure a 100 per cent electoral victory in the state.

There are claims of division within the APC rank and file in Kwara State. What can you say is the cause or causes of the alleged division within the party?

It depends on who is talking about division. As far as we are concerned, we are one family within the APC. They say there are disagreements. Disagreements are common within families, whether small or large. That does not mean there is a division. A family still retains its surname. So I don’t know anyone who isn’t in the APC. Anyone in the APC is a member of the APC family.

If we have disagreements, there are processes and mechanisms for resolving them. You know that we recently set up a Reconciliation Committee, which has just completed its work and submitted its report. We have also set up a smaller committee to review the issues raised and make recommendations.

There is a group of former governorship aspirants within the APC who claim there was no governorship primary election in the state. How do you respond to this?

We have moved beyond the issue of aspirants. We already have a candidate. The process for selecting or electing our candidates is the same across the country. So, that issue is beyond us. I cannot be talking about that now.

How will the formation of the APC G15, now known as The Otoge Progressives (OTP), affect the APC’s chances in the 2027 elections in the state?

The 2027 election is in the hands of the Almighty God. He has been with us before, and He is still with us. God will continue to be with us. So, by the grace of God, victory is sure for our party in 2027.

Even without the support of the G15?

I am not talking about any G-anything, because even the so-called G15 is now about G6 or so. So, what are we talking about? G15 is now about G6.

What I mean is that we are hearing different things. They said some people want to join the PDP, and most of them say they will not return to Egypt. So, they are depleting. I don’t see how any G-anything will affect anything.

And the remaining people, I know, will, in good conscience, return to the fold. We are members of the same family. There is no disagreement that is unresolvable.

Then, sir, will you say that the grievances of the APC G15 are genuine and in the best interests of the APC, as they claim?

One thing, let us establish this. Anyone who has gone through a process and is dissatisfied with it has an inalienable right to have grievances and to be aggrieved. So, it is their right to be aggrieved.

What I am quarrelling with is the process by which they are pursuing their grievances. That is exposing the party to ridicule in the press. That is my grievance with them. So, they have the right to be aggrieved, and we have set up a Reconciliation Committee where everyone should go to ventilate their grievances.

Did they participate? Did they appear before the Reconciliation Committee?

Well, we are reviewing the Reconciliation Committee’s report. We will know whether they did or not.

What are the chances of the APC in the coming elections, especially the governorship election?

With all sense of responsibility and honesty, and to the glory of Almighty God, we are returning with a 100 per cent electoral victory in 2027.

What gives you this confidence? What has the incumbent governor done to earn it?

Let me tell you. Confidence is knowing that nothing can go wrong. The work and the results of this governor, from every perspective, point to the fact that victory is assured. The people who want to come back from the opposition parties, what did they do in Kwara?

Is it infrastructure? Is it because they pushed Kwara out of UBEC benefits? Is it the issue of the World Health Organisation? Or the education sector? Is it the employment of the thousands of teachers we have employed? Is it the payment of salaries as and when due? Is it the payment of pensions? Or is it the promotion of civil servants, which the AbdulRazaq administration has prioritised?

So, what are we talking about? These are things the government has done that have endeared it to the people. When people talk about the parties that were in place before and think about their return, it is as if someone is shameless enough to think they can come and take the integrity of the people of the state for granted. They can’t. I don’t see how they can.

In all humility, I don’t think Kwara will return to Egypt. Egypt is a land of slavery. It will not return there, by the grace of God.

Did the government make any effort to bring back the G15 into the APC fold?

See, when you are talking about a particular group of people, various offices have been contested. The governorship is just one of them, and we have only one governor. About 16 people were competing for the position.

We have the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the House of Assembly. The House of Assembly should have been more rancorous, given that there are 24 seats and more than 150 people were contesting them.

The party has just decided that it is better to be equitable, fair and just. That is why the issue of the Kwara governorship candidature was more or less shifted to the north, or the north was considered. They have never had it in all these 28 years of democracy. It is only fair that they be considered.

Although the process was left open for everyone to express their ambition, the Kwara North stakeholders recently held a unity rally at the Metropolitan Square. The four contestants from the north came together, held each other’s hands, and raised them, saying that any of them was better than having none.

As luck would have it, one of them, Engr. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu emerged. So, what are we talking about?

Our people here in Kwara Central and the South want progress for the party. If not, the complaints that should be arising now should be that the governor has not performed or has not done this or that. But nobody is talking about that.

So, it means whatever they are agitating for is about themselves. I think this should open people’s eyes to the fact that those who say they are G-one thing or the other are only interested in securing positions for themselves at the national level. They are not talking about their followership.

If they are talking about their followership, they should say that salaries are not being paid on time, that there is no health infrastructure on the ground, or that civil servants are at the same level as they were before the advent of the AbdulRazaq administration in 2019, when workers were receiving percentage salaries and promotions had accumulated.

None of them, the G15, is talking about this. It is just about self-interest. Let them pick one of us. They have not been able to come out with just one person and say, “APC, take this man instead of that one.”

Are they now saying that the chosen Speaker was not a member of the APC? Are they saying he is not a Kwaran? Are they saying he is not qualified? Ask them.

So, I think all these things just require maturity and faith in God. Only God gives positions, and He gives them to whoever He wants.

I think people should not fight God. I would say that even these G15 people believe the governor has performed well, as they have not criticised him. Everybody knows that the governor has performed excellently. Everybody knows that.

They are only saying, “He has not consulted me; he has not done this.” Is he under any obligation to consult anyone? He is the one we voted into office. He is the one responsible for his actions.

The APC Reconciliation Committee has submitted its report. Are the recommendations of the committee capable of calming the frayed nerves?

I believe so until they release the white paper on the report.

When are we likely to have that?

Very soon.

If not, what is the way forward for the APC, especially given that PDP stakeholders are mandating Dr Bukola Saraki to open alliance talks with the APC G15?

Well, that is their own internal agreement. We are carrying on with ours. We are trying to make sure that we are united and come out strong.

As the state chairman of the APC, are you not disturbed that some members of your party are allegedly planning to defect to the PDP to team up against your candidates?

Politics is a voluntary matter for adults, so you can choose where you want to belong. I cannot begrudge anyone for choosing where they want to belong. While the bulk of the people who contested the 2023 election on the PDP platform have defected to the APC, I will not expect that 100 per cent of existing APC members will remain the same. That may not be the case.

But I know the balance of this matter now rests with the APC. Most of the people who contested for the National Assembly and other offices on the PDP platform at the time are now members of the APC.

Based on your submission, can we rightly say that the alleged planned defections of G15 members to the PDP do not pose a threat to the APC?

I don’t believe anyone will defect. I don’t believe that. Get to the bridge before you cross the river. I don’t act on assumptions.

Any message for APC members across the state?

What we are enjoining them to do is to remain steadfast. We are simply encouraging them to remain steadfast. Let them not be distracted by the noise around them.