Sense of unity should guide choice of Kwara 2027 guber candidate in APC, stakeholders advise
Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State have urged governorship aspirants in the to be guided by a sense of unity and respect for diversity in political structures.
In a statement by a chieftain of the APC in the state, Saddiq Buhari, he said the next governor of the state should exhibit the competence and leadership acumen required to hold together a multi-ethnic state like Kwara.
The APC chieftain, who noted that no aspirant has the authority to declare any part of Kwara State irrelevant, added that Kwara North is not a political error.
“Calling Kwara North incapable or politically exhausted is not analysis; it is anti-democratic. It reflects a dangerous belief that political worth is conferred by elite consensus rather than citizenship. That belief is incompatible with democratic principles.
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“Kwara North is not a footnote. It is a constitutionally equal region, populated by citizens whose rights to participate in leadership and political discourse do not depend on the approval of any politician or organisation.
Saddiq Buhari, who described the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Yakubu Danladi Salihu, as a competent political leader and administrator, said the lawmaker is in his sixth year as Assembly Speaker with no record of labour crises.
“In contrast, the young man whom his political antagonist seeks to deride ticks all the boxes. Zoning is the icing on the cake of Speaker Danladi’s blazing personal and political profile, not the foundation on which his ambition is built, and certainly not its oxygen. Danladi is in his sixth year as Assembly Speaker with no record of labour crises, but can the same be said of his political adversary?
“Kwara North does not need permission to matter. It does not need to earn dignity through silence, and it will not accept being insulted to protect the credibility of anyone.
“If those opposed to Kwara North truly believe in democratic values, the path is simple: drop the contempt, address the questions, and respect every region equally. Until then, every attempt to speak down on Kwara North will be read correctly, not as confidence, but as fear masquerading as intellect.”