Kwara State All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) governorship candidate for the 2027 general election, Yakubu Salihu, now has a new running mate.
He is Oluwaseun Ogunniyi aka Adato. Ogunniyi represents Ojomu/Balogun Constituency in the House of Assembly.
He hails from Offa in Offa Local Government.
Initially, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC (INEC) listed Bello Salau as the deputy governorship candidate of APC.
Bello’s replacement by APC, it was gathered, is to calm opposition to Muslim-Muslim ticket, as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has Muslim-Christian governorship and deputy governorship candidates.
But a youth group named the 52-Youth Coalition (52-YC) has kicked against the move.
It described the ‘move as one of the most unprecedented democratic aberrations in Nigeria’s recent political history.’
In a statement, coalition’s Secretary, Bashir Amid, alleged: ‘Governor AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq and APC leadership have imposed the current Speaker, Danladi, as the APC governorship candidate, with Ogunniyi, the member representing Ojomu/Balogun State Constituency, as his running mate, while another loyalist from the same House is being positioned to take over as Speaker.
‘But what has never happened, from Sokoto to Bayelsa and from Lagos to Borno, is a party nominating two serving colleagues who sit together in the same chamber, raise hands together, shout ‘Aye’ together and approve executive memos without scrutiny, as governorship and deputy governorship candidates at the same time.
‘Even the most desperate party understands that you cannot build executive capacity from a legislature that has none, and no serious party fields legislative apprentices for executive leadership at once.
‘The APC in Kwara has now created that ugly history. After eight years in power, the best it can offer is its classroom prefects.’
The statement added: ‘It is also a slap on the face of accomplished ‘Kwarans’. There are thousands of refined, accomplished ‘Kwarans’ in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, London, Toronto and New York, technocrats who run multinationals, professors who run research labs, entrepreneurs who employ thousands. The message from the Government House is that none of them is good enough.
‘The contrast with the PDP makes the APC’s failure even more glaring. The PDP has gone for substance, with Kale Kawu, an engineer, as governorship candidate, an accomplished technocrat, philanthropist and humanitarian with a private sector track record of creating jobs and delivering projects without public funds; and Rev. Fawenu as his deputy, a grassroots mobiliser, who is held in high esteem by the Christian community and beyond for his integrity, humility and long years of community service.
‘One party is presenting an executive team ready to govern from day one with a clear blueprint; the other is presenting an attendance list from a failed Assembly.
‘The coalition notes that ‘Kwarans’ are wiser and cannot be deceived. A House that could not make a law to lift ‘Kwarans’ out of poverty cannot produce a governor who will lift Kwara out of underdevelopment.’