Kwara APC Crisis Deepens as Mustapha Dumps Party, Picks PDP Ticket
.Says he backs Tinubu ·Jiya, other aggrieved members follow as party reconciliation efforts falter Hammed Shittu in Ilorin and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State
The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has intensified as Senator Saliu Mustapha, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, has resigned from the party to join the People's Democratic Party (PDP). This follows weeks of speculation and growing discontent within the APC over the conduct and outcome of its recent governorship primary.
Hon. Kolo Jiya, a prominent member from Patigi Local Government Area, has also left the APC to join the PDP, with intentions to secure the PDP ticket for the Kwara North Senatorial District. The defections came after protests by 10 APC governorship aspirants who rejected the selection of Salihu Yahaya Danladi as the party's preferred candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
Mustapha stated that he left the APC in alignment with a group of aggrieved members, known as the G15, Otoge Progressives (TOP), and the elders’ caucus, who chose the PDP as the most suitable platform to challenge the ruling party's structure in Kwara. He maintained that his decision was not due to a disagreement with President Bola Tinubu, but with the way APC was managed in Kwara.
Despite the party's efforts to reconcile discordant members, the resignations of Mustapha and Jiya suggest that these initiatives have yet to bear fruit. This development is a major setback for the APC in the state, as they face potential defeats in the upcoming elections.
Written by urgent.news from This Day's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
