By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

A political pressure group in Kwara South, Aaro Meta, has urged aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the district to set aside their grievances and support the party’s governorship candidate, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Salihu Danladi, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group also backed the emergence of a governorship candidate from Kwara North, arguing that equity, fairness and political balance informed the need for a shift in power to the district.

The group’s Coordinator, Engr. Adebayo S. Daramola, made the appeal on Friday while addressing journalists at the News Keg organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ilorin.

Aaro Meta said it played an active role in the 2018 O to Ge movement, which contributed to the emergence of the APC-led government in the state in 2019, adding that its position was informed by the need to sustain the party’s political fortunes and promote fairness among the three senatorial districts.

The group recalled that during the 2019 governorship election, it supported the emergence of an APC candidate from Kwara Central, despite its base in Kwara South, in consideration of the prevailing political circumstances.

That decision, it noted, resulted in the emergence of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who won the 2019 election and secured a second term in 2023.

It urged APC members in Kwara South to demonstrate a similar spirit of political accommodation by supporting Danladi, who hails from Kwara North.

“Why can’t we also have a free mind like we did in 2019 to rally support for any candidate that emerged from the Kwara North Senatorial District, rather than having a preferred candidate?” the group queried.

Aaro Meta acknowledged that Kwara South had aspired to produce the APC governorship candidate but maintained that political power should be distributed fairly among the three senatorial districts.

It argued that since 1999, Kwara South had produced a governor for eight years, while Kwara Central would have accounted for 20 years in office by the time AbdulRazaq completes his tenure in May 2027.

The group said supporting a candidate from Kwara North would provide the district an opportunity to produce the state’s next governor.

It particularly appealed to aggrieved APC members in Kwara South and members of the G-15 political bloc to embrace reconciliation and work for the success of Danladi and other party candidates in the 2027 elections.

“We cannot afford to be a party to the destruction of the house and family we have all toiled to build and nurture all these years, but to always learn to forgive one another when we offend ourselves,” it said.

The group warned that internal divisions could give opposition parties an opportunity to gain political advantage, urging APC members not to abandon the party because their preferred aspirants failed to secure its tickets.

On security, Aaro Meta commended President Bola Tinubu and Governor AbdulRazaq for efforts to address banditry and kidnapping in Kwara South, particularly in Ifelodun Local Government Area.

It said insecurity had reduced considerably in the region but identified the Oro Forest corridor, stretching from Oro-Ago and Oreke Road towards Egbe, Okoloke and Lade, as a major security concern.

The group also commended the establishment of military bases in Oro-Ago and Babanla, as well as the recent establishment of the 184 Battalion in Omu-Aran, describing the military presence as strategic to tackling banditry and kidnapping.

It urged APC members to prioritise reconciliation, forgiveness and collective responsibility, maintaining that party unity was important to its electoral prospects in 2027.

2027: Aaro Meta urges Kwara South APC to back Danladi

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