Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, and his Ogun State counterpart, Dapo Abiodun, were absent from a recent All Progressives Congress (APC) meeting on 2027 tickets to avoid making commitments on political developments in their states.
The meeting was convened to discuss the push by senators and members of the House of Representatives seeking return tickets in 2027.
Sources who spoke with The Nation said the two governors stayed away because of unresolved political calculations in Kwara and Ogun states.
In Kwara, AbdulRazaq is said to be pushing for the governorship ticket to shift to the Kwara North Senatorial District.
However, sources said the power blocs within the Presidency and the APC favour the Kwara Central Senatorial District because of its voting strength.
A source said, “The governor wants to produce his successor from Kwara North, and he is also desirous of the Kwara Central Senatorial District ticket. The party is ready to concede the Senatorial slot to him, but the governorship ticket is for Kwara Central District in order to checkmate the resurgence of the political influence of a former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki.
“Also, the party cannot underrate the voting strength of Sen. Saliu Mustapha, who is presently representing Kwara Central District.”
The source added that there are other APC governorship aspirants from Kwara Central, including the Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman; a former Action Congress of Nigeria governorship candidate, Dele Belgore, SAN; a former senator, Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe; and businessman, Dr Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki.
Ogun East Ticket Dispute
In Ogun State, Governor Abiodun and former governor Gbenga Daniel are reportedly locked in a battle over the Ogun East Senatorial District ticket ahead of 2027.
A source said the dispute followed the reported concession of the governorship ticket to Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi.
The source said, “Having conceded the governorship slot to Sen. Solomon Adeola Yayi, the governor felt he should not be denied an opportunity to be a Senator.
“Daniel is determined to return to the Senate. He said Abiodun has emerged as the consensus APC aspirant of the District in a kangaroo manner.”
According to The Nation, checks revealed that the Kwara and Ogun governors had travelled to France to meet with President Bola Tinubu.
However, a governor familiar with the development said AbdulRazaq’s absence was attributed to ill health.
The governor said, “The message we got from Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was that he was sick and he travelled abroad.”
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