Some youths in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara have endorsed calls for the suspension of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of the state for anti-party activities.
The youths, acting under the aegis of Concerned APC Youth Stakeholders, expressed their support for the suspension of the governor from the party at a news conference on Tuesday in Ilorin.
It would be recalled that the APC caretaker committee in the state through its Legal Adviser, Mr Oladimeji Mustapha, had accused the governor of anti-party activities and called for his suspension.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the youths, Mr Mustapha Mohammed from Edu Local Government Area, said the governor should be suspended over his many infractions against APC in Kwara.
He accused AbdulRazaq of factionalising the party with his AA faction, which he said has polarised the APC.
“The overall summary as stated before is that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is guilty of causing division and crisis within our party and de-registration of members by his chosen agents during the last registration and revalidation exercise of our party,” he said.
According to Mustapha, the governor’s various anti-party activities were infractions punishable under Article 21 of the party’s constitution.
“We implore the state executive of our party to apply the provisions of Article 21 strictly as there should be no sacred cows in APC,” he added.
Mustapha said the governor was guilty of causing instability, division and wanton crisis in the party, noting that “the party has become seriously fragmented and divided.
“Due to his governance style, he is the governor with the most derogatory appellations to his name to the shame of our party and Kwarans”.
Mustapha renewed their support for the Mr Bashir Bolarinwa-led caretaker committee in the state, describing Alhaji Abdullahi Samari as an impostor.
“For the avoidance of doubt, one Alhaji Abdullahi Samari who parades himself as Kwara state caretaker chairman remains at best an impostor.
“Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa was unequivocally reaffirmed as caretaker state chairman when he took his oath of office along with his colleagues on 8th December, 2020.
“Therefore, to all intents and purposes, Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa remains the authentic caretaker state chairman of Kwara State APC,” he said.
The youths lamented that that the goodwill APC enjoyed in 2019 has been rubbished by the governor.
“The goodwill we enjoyed prior to the 2019 elections has been recklessly squandered and the governor is no longer in good standing to lead the party to electoral victory in the state.
“Surprisingly, the scramble for illusory second term ticket is the reason for this needless and unending crisis.
“But a poser for Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and his motley crowd is ‘can a house divided against itself stand’?
“The few supporters who choose to align with Mr Governor are deceitful, unpopular, and pretentious. They have been his same co-travelers in an infamous political journey. What they seek is their daily bread.
“It is important to point out that the few others within and outside the state who are in collaboration with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq are only aiding and abetting him to destabilize and destroy our party in the state”.
The youths also accused the governor of having penchant for destabilising political parties he found himself.
“His political journey is replete with one crisis after the other. He left ACN amidst trouble for CPC in 2011.
“In CPC, he factionalized it; his voyage in the PDP was no less tumultuous.
“He fought the status quo almost to the point of destroying the party. He was funding parallel structures and instituting court cases at will to challenge legitimate structures of the party.
“Since he joined the APC, the party has known no peace,” Mustapha added.
According to him, the governor’s politics of polarising and factionalizing the party is leading to the loss of goodwill that brought APC to power.
“If they are deep thinkers, they should have realised that the party cannot approach the electorate with this disunity and go to polls with one voice like we did in 2019,” he said.
He added that it was Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, and others that built APC when the governor defected from the PDP.
“It is on record that before Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and his gang decamped from the PDP into the APC, it was Alhaji Lai Mohammed and all those he seeks to malign today that built the party and sustained it.
“They prepared the ground for his seamless ticket and eventual victory at the general elections.
“It is very unfortunate that the labour of our heroes past is no longer worthy after he effortlessly became governor. This is another betrayal from a serial culprit,” Mustapha said.
Meanwhile, the governor’s faction of the APC is yet to react to the latest calls for his suspension from the party.
