Ten governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State have petitioned President Bola Tinubu over what they described as a deepening leadership crisis within the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a joint petition addressed to the President, the aspirants alleged that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had “lost moral and political authority” to determine the party’s future in the state and urged the President to intervene to prevent further divisions.

The petition was signed by Dr Oluwatoyin Tajudeen Alabi, Capt. Ahmad Mahmud, Alhaji Tajudeen Audu, Dr Azeez Salako, Ambassador Yahaya Seriki Gambari, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Dr Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa, Hon. Omar Muhammed Bio, Barrister Dele Belgore (SAN), and Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe.

The aspirants reaffirmed their support for President Tinubu and his Renewed Hope Agenda but warned that internal disagreements within the Kwara APC could weaken the party’s electoral prospects if left unresolved.

They claimed that the coalition that brought the APC to power through the 2019 “Otoge” movement had been undermined by exclusion and lack of inclusive leadership.

According to the group, many stakeholders who contributed to the party’s success had been sidelined from government and party affairs, leading to growing discontent within the APC.

The aspirants also called for a review of the governorship selection process, urging President Tinubu to adopt a more transparent and consensus-based approach that would unite party members ahead of the 2027 elections.

They pledged to support any consensus candidate endorsed by the President, provided the process is fair and inclusive.

Responding to the petition, Governor AbdulRazaq’s Senior Special Assistant on Communication, Ibraheem Abdullateef, said President Tinubu had already endorsed the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, as the party’s governorship candidate.

Abdullateef urged aggrieved party members to embrace dialogue and work towards unity, insisting that the focus should now be on strengthening the APC ahead of the 2027 elections rather than deepening internal divisions.