The Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), North Central Nigeria, on Wednesday held its congress across the 193 wards of the state, indicating the emergence of party leadership at that level.
Widely monitored by the Screening and Appeals Committee from the party’s national secretariat, the exercise was peaceful and carnival-like in many of the areas visited by reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, as well as in Asa, Ekiti, and Baruten local government areas.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event at the party’s secretariat in Ilorin, APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, said the new leaders emerged through affirmation, adding that the exercise marked a passing of the baton and further solidified the party’s structure.
“This is the ward congress of the party which took place in all 193 wards in the state. So far so good, we have not heard any adverse reports. The idea behind affirmation is to make the exercise less rancorous,” the Chairman said.
“It is an affirmative congress because our people are supposed to be carried on from where they are, but it is a constitutional responsibility of the party to go through the process.”
Fagbemi said the exercise signifies progress, unity and togetherness and foretells huge success for the party in the 2027 general elections and beyond.
Peaceful Exercise
The Chairman of the Congress Committee and State Deputy Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Samari, said all participants had been duly screened before their participation in the exercise.
“So far so good, the report we are having is very encouraging. You cannot go to any affirmation without being screened. So, all the candidates have been screened by the party and they were found worthy to come back as APC executives at their respective wards. That is why we are having the affirmation taking place in the whole 193 wards in Kwara State,” Samari said.
The Secretary of the Screening Committee, Oche Muhammed, said they have properly screened the list of aspirants ahead of the elections into various offices, adding that the exercise has so far been peaceful.
“We were given a list of screened accredited party faithful who vied into various ward offices. Elections have been conducted peacefully in various ward centres. Already, we have received some results while we await other results,” Muhammed said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the APC in Ilorin West Local Government, Suleiman Tejidini, said the reports from all the 12 wards in Ilorin West Local Government indicated that the exercise was going on smoothly and rancour-free.
“We reaffirmed all our chairmen and other party executives. All the stakeholders, including the elders, women and youth took part. That is why we can see jubilation everywhere because it was a collective decision of all the relevant stakeholders.”
He appreciated the Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, political appointees, members of the national and state assemblies, council chairmen and other stakeholders.
The Chairman of the Ilorin West Local Government, Alhaji AbdulRahman Ladan, observed that the Congress was peaceful and successful across wards in the local government.
“There was no rancour among us as the exercise was only the reaffirmation of existing executives. We use this opportunity to thank our leader, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for creating an enabling environment for the exercise to take place peacefully,” he said.
Reports from southern and northern senatorial districts also showed that the exercise went smoothly.