Aggrieved APC members threaten to dump party in Kwara

• Published date: 16 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Some All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders of the 16 local government areas of Kwara State have notified the leadership of the party of their intention to defect to an unnamed party.

They warned the leadership of the party against its decision to ignore them on issues of utmost concern to the people. The leaders, who insisted that they remain in the party in spite of the glaring shortcomings of its leadership, said they might be forced to opt for a last resort if the leadership continues to ignore them.

A former Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government, Jide Usman told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital that the group leaders had watched patiently and with grave concern about some happenings in the state's political horizon.

At the briefing that had other leaders of the group in attendance, Usman listed some of their grievances, including the inability of the government to organize local government elections to bring elected officials to run the affairs at the local government level, slow and low payment of gratuities due to pensioners, neglect of the rural areas with regards to physical development and agriculture which government would have used to create employment for the teeming youth and the rural road network neglect.

He said the disgruntled leaders are respected opinion leaders and grassroots mobilizers in the 16 local government areas that any serious political group in the state cannot afford to ignore.

The erstwhile council chairman said overtures made to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to table the grievances of the group proved unsuccessful. He said the interaction of the group with people across the three senatorial districts also revealed similar tales of woes and disappointments which led to the resolve to take their destiny into their hands by pitching their tent with another party in the forthcoming general elections.

Usman, a one-time governorship aspirant, cautioned that the APC may not able to form the next government in the state this year if positive actions were not taken on the issues of raised in the running of the present...