Hand over Structure to rAPC, Face Mass Defection, Kwara PDP Tells NWC

The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday threatened to defect if the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) eventually handed over the chapter to the reformed All Progressives Congress(rAPC) as being speculated.

The state’s former PDP Chairman, Alhaji Kunle Sulyman and other party leaders disclosed this at a news conference they addressed in Ilorin yesterday, warning the PDP National Chairman, Chief Uche Secondus against handing over the leadership of the chapter to the rAPC leaders.

The rAPC leaders in the state are being led by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the state governor, Mr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Sen. Shaaba Lafiaji and Sen. Rafiu Ibrahim among others.

Sulyman said: “I want to say that the PDP should be careful on this move because this may have a serious effect on the future of the party in the country.”

Sulyman explained that Kwara PDP “is formidable to win any elections in the state. We do not need any groups of people that will destabilise our unity of purpose.”

“However, if the NWC decides to allow the rAPC leaders in Kwara State to take over the PDP, we will have no other way than to move our structures to another party that we will work with during the next year general elections.

Also at the conference, the PDP Chairman in Ilorin West Local Government Area, Alhaji Abubakar Sulaimon said the national leadership of the PDP should be wary of the antics of the rAPC leaders, who dumped it for the APC in 2014.

According to him, the PDP in Kwara State possesses standard structure that no one can withstand. This will be showed to the people of the state and the nation in particular during the forthcoming general elections.

Without the leaders of rAPC and their members, Sulaimon said the PDP “can win convincingly. This was showed during the November 17, 2017 local government council election in Kwara where the PDP had a landslide electoral victory.

“Also in the Ajikobi ward of Ilorin West Local Government Area, the PDP polled 3,302 votes against 3,158 polled by the ruling APC in the state. “