Breaking: Trouble in APC as 12 Ward Executives Join Top Senator to Defect Ahead of 2027 Election

• The ward chairman and secretary of Gambari Ward 1 in Ilorin East LGA resigned within hours of Senator Saliu Mustapha's departure from the APC
• Ten other ward executives followed with a joint resignation letter, bringing the total number of APC officials who quit to 12
• The 12 officials announced plans to join Mustapha in the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections

Twelve executive members of the All Progressives Congress in Gambari Ward 1, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State, have resigned from their positions and withdrawn their APC membership, days after Senator Saliu Mustapha, who represents Kwara Central, defected from the ruling party.

The departures began on Friday, August 20, when ward chairman Aliyu Abdulhakeem and secretary Abdulwaheed Adanla each sent separate resignation letters to the Ilorin East LGA APC chairman, Habib Ajibola.

Ten other ward executives then submitted a joint resignation letter on Saturday, completing the wave of exits from the ward.

Ward officials who left the APC

The ten officials who resigned jointly include Treasurer Olayinka Odunlami, Auditor-General Kelani Kola Saheed, Legal Adviser Bube Lukman, Assistant Auditor-General Adebayo Kazeem, Assistant Treasurer Muhammed Yunus Idowu, Assistant Youth Leader Ganiyu Taiye Ofide, Assistant Women Leader Alhaja Iyalanki, Assistant Secretary Muhammed Abdullahi O., Assistant Financial Secretary Olabowu Tosho, and Assistant Organising Secretary Umar Abubakar Hajj.

"We, the concerned executive members of Gambari Ward 1 hereby formally resign from our posts as well as membership of the All Progressives Congress," the ten officials said in their joint letter.

"The decision was reached after careful consideration for the best interest of our beloved ward. We thank the party for the platform given to serve."

In his resignation letter, Abdulhakeem said he was stepping down "for personal reasons best known to me," while thanking party members, elders and stakeholders for their support. Adanla, in a separate letter dated Friday, August 20, pledged to return all party documents, records, stamps and other property in his possession to the appropriate authorities.

Mustapha's defection and what comes next

The twelve resignations followed Mustapha's announcement on Thursday that he was leaving the APC. His resignation letter, dated August 14 and addressed to the Gambari Ward 1 chairman, cited recent developments within the Kwara APC and concerns about the party's leadership in the state.

He subsequently joined the Peoples Democratic Party and obtained the party's ticket to contest the Kwara Central senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections.

The departing ward executives said they intend to follow Mustapha into the PDP and align with what they described as an emerging "rainbow coalition" ahead of the 2027 polls.

It remains unclear whether other APC officials and supporters across Kwara Central will also exit the party in the coming weeks, as the 2027 contest for the senatorial seat takes shape.

Saraki announces 2027 preferred presidential candidate

Previously, Legit.ng reported that Senator Saliu Mustapha, who represents Kwara Central in the National Assembly, claimed that former Senate President Bukola Saraki is working to secure President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027, even as Saraki leads the Peoples Democratic Party in Kwara State.

Mustapha made the claim after he defected from the All Progressives Congress to the PDP and secured the party's ticket for the Kwara Central senatorial seat.