On the day that campaigns for the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly elections end, a big rift has erupted in the camp of the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as top leaders of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have refused to join him in the last minute strategy session aimed at perfecting the plan for winning the elections.

Rather, the party leaders have been sending signals that they will work with the main opposition candidate, Alhaji Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win the governorship election on Saturday.

The APC leaders have also shown through their body language that they are ready to pay the governor back in his coin for his various sins against them by cooperating with the opposition during the elections.

Among the top APC leaders said to be having underground discussions with the PDP candidate and other leaders of the opposition party are Senator-elect Salihu Mustapha, Hon. Moshood Mustapha, Mr. Raheem Adedoyin, Sen. Ahmed Ahmed, and Hon. Ahmed Ndakene.

Other top APC leaders who may not support the governor’s aspiration are Sen. Sadiq Umar, Hon. Ilyasu Moro, member-elect of the House of Representatives, Yinka Aluko, and Sen. Yahaya Oloriegbe, all of whom have perfected plans not to support Abdulrazaq.

Another key political figure who may also work for the PDP candidate to express his grievances with the governor is Hon. Gani Olododo-Cook, who is a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

It is believed that Soliu Mustapha is unhappy with the governor who he believes has refused to wait till after the election before beginning to play the politics of 2027. The governor, he believes is already playing the role of godfather distributing offices and making promises which can compromise the ambitions of top politicians in the state.

Earlier today, Mustapha had a shouting match with Yahaya Seriki, Governor Abdulrazaq’s campaign Director General over the issue of control of the election strategy for Saturday. The Senator-elect believes the governor is using his DG to undermine him.

Soliu also believes that he does not need a governor who does not reward his loyalty and the huge resources he deployed to sell the party across the four LGAs in the Central Senatorial District.

In the case of Yinka Aluko, the member-elect of the House of Representatives knows that the Governor did not want him to be the candidate and that he preferred his commissioner, Sa’adat Kawu-Modibo. Aluko was particularly disappointed that the governor still sponsored a court case instituted by Kawu-Modibo against his candidacy.

“When he also heard that the Governor while persuading Hon. Wahab Isa to join the APC reiterated his aversion to Aluko and also noted that he would make the new defector the leader in Ilorin East and Ilorin South federal constituency did not go down with Yinka Aluko”, a source within the party said.

Sen. Oloriegbe has never hidden his disdain for Abdulrazaq who he saw as not only incompetent but also has deep hatred for more qualified politicians. The manner he snatched the APC ticket from him has made the Senator vow to work with them.

As for Hon. Moshood Mustapha, a staunch member of the Saraki group, before he joined the O to Ge movement in 2019, the Governor has not treated him well. Abdulrazaq not only blocked him from getting any prominent appointment at the federal level, but he also undermined him politically at the state level.

“Even in Ilorin West and his Alanamu ward, Governor Abdulrazaq has not given him a breathing space. While Mustapha has been handling the issue with maturity, it is obvious the governor is merely tolerating him and will not hesitate to move against him anytime. He is also afraid the governor may order the destruction of his property”, an APC leader in Ilorin West told our correspondent earlier this morning.

Raheem Adedoyin who is a close associate of Mustapha and Aluko is not happy with the way the governor treated his friends and despite his closeness to the governor, he was the first to suggest that they should all work discreetly in support of Yaman who is their fellow in the O to Ge revolution.

Ndakene is said to be angry that the governor took his position from him and gave it to Alh. Ahmed Saba. In the case of Sen. Ahmed and Sen. Umar, their grouse emanated from the decision of the governor to be touting ministerial slots by promising different people in Kwara North.

The two men are also not comfortable with the promise of giving the governorship slot to Kwara North in 2027, a promise they suspect may not be fulfilled. Ahmed, Umar, Ilyasu Moro, and Ndakene are also under pressure to support their brother, Yaman Abdullahi who is the preferred candidate of their zone as the favourite homeboy for the governorship.

It will be recalled that Cook-Olododo has long become estranged from the governor as both men went their different ways when the  APC became factionalized. Cook-Olododo supported the faction that refused to accept the leadership of Abdulrahman and then headed to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) under whose platform he contested the February 25, 2023 election.

The APC leaders are said to have had secret meetings with the PDP governorship who has assured them that “they will all have a good say in the building a new Kwara”.