The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described Senator Saliu Mustapha’s resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) as further evidence of what it called the deepening leadership crisis within the ruling party in the state.
The PDP, in a statement issued by its State Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Adewara, said the departure of Mustapha, a serving senator representing Kwara Central and a founding member of the APC, was a major setback for the party and a reflection of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s alleged failure to provide effective leadership.
Reacting to his resignation, the PDP alleged that the development had exposed the internal divisions within the Kwara APC, which it said could no longer be concealed through political publicity and social media campaigns.
“Governor AbdulRazaq has failed his party just as he has failed the people of Kwara State. He now presides over a party that is fatally fractured, internally weakened and increasingly rejected by ordinary Kwarans,” the statement said.
According to the opposition party, Mustapha’s resignation was particularly significant coming shortly after the exit of another prominent APC figure, Ambassador Kolo Jiya, Haske of Lafiagi, alongside other party leaders from Kwara North.
The PDP described the recent defections and resignations as signs of a growing loss of confidence in the leadership of the governor.
“The resignation of Senator Saliu Mustapha is not an ordinary political development; it is a loud confirmation that the leadership crisis in the APC has reached a dangerous and irreversible stage,” Adewara said.
The party further accused Governor AbdulRazaq of allegedly treating influential political figures in the state as threats to his political ambitions rather than as partners in governance.
It argued that the movement of prominent stakeholders who were instrumental to the growth of the APC in Kwara suggested that discontent within the party had spread beyond individual members.
“What is happening to the Kwara APC today is not just political migration. It is the inevitable collapse of a party built on lies, deceit, image laundering targeted at innocent families, and evil propaganda of 2019,” the PDP alleged.
The opposition party urged APC members who were reportedly considering leaving the party but were reluctant to do so because of political considerations to reconsider their position.
“We call on every distinguished Kwaran still trapped in the APC out of sheer reluctance to leave to summon courage and take the bold step now. Leave the skidding APC vehicle before it lands you in a political dungeon,” the statement added.
The PDP said it remained confident in its capacity to provide an alternative political platform for the people of Kwara State, with the leadership of former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.
The party maintained that the PDP remained the “strongest and most viable political platform” for what it described as the restoration of purposeful leadership and shared prosperity in the state.
