• Endorses Danladi’s Guber Candidacy

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Elders Caucus of the Kwara South All Progressives Congress (APC) has been reconstituted following the exit of its former Chairman, Chief James Ayeni.

It also reaffirmed its support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and all the other APC candidates in the State.

The caucus made this known at a press conference in Ilorin on Friday, where it also endorsed the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election.

The reconstituted caucus, comprising elders, leaders and stakeholders from the seven local government areas of Kwara South, is chaired by Hon. Engr. Benjamin Oyeyemi.

Oyeyemi, who spoke on behalf of the group, said the caucus was committed to strengthening the party’s unity and mobilising support for its candidates ahead of the elections.

The elders passed a vote of confidence in AbdulRazaq, commending his administration’s performance in infrastructure, education, healthcare and youth empowerment, particularly in Kwara South,

They urged the Governor to remain focused and provide the necessary leadership to ensure the APC’s victory in the state.

The caucus also formally endorsed Danladi-Salihu, describing him as tested, trusted, competent and capable of consolidating on the achievements of the AbdulRazaq administration.

It said the Speaker had demonstrated political maturity, leadership capacity and statewide appeal, adding that his experience placed him in a good position to lead the state after the expiration of the incumbent governor’s tenure.

The elders further called on APC members, aspirants and stakeholders across the state to close ranks and support the party’s decisions, insisting that individual political ambitions should not supersede the collective interest of the party.

Addressing concerns over internal disagreements and the possibility of defections, Oyeyemi acknowledged that some members remained aggrieved but said the situation would not prevent the caucus from working towards victory in 2027.

“Even among the aggrieved members, there are still people who are committed. There will always be issues, but that is not enough to run away from the reality that the election is going to be a challenging one,” he said.

He said the caucus would intensify grassroots mobilisation by reaching out to voters and engaging party members, adding that efforts were ongoing to reconcile aggrieved stakeholders.

Oyeyemi specifically identified members of the G15 group as part of the APC family, assuring that communication with them remained open.

“Those in the G15 are part of us, and the line of communication is still open,” he said.

Also speaking, a member of the caucus, Raphael Olalekan, said the elders were determined to resolve internal disagreements and prevent the party from losing members ahead of the elections.

“We are one. Let us remind ourselves that politics is local. This is an elders caucus, and what we are concerned about is to work tirelessly to mend our fences and ensure that those who are probably leaving or are at the edge of leaving the party will return,” he said.

Olalekan said the caucus would prioritise reconciliation among aggrieved members, particularly those who had been part of the party’s political journey from the beginning.

“Our target is to make sure that issues are resolved among our aggrieved members ahead of the elections. By the special grace of God, we will win with a landslide victory,” he added.

He, however, stressed that the APC could not afford to lose any of its longstanding members, particularly those associated with the G15 group, urging party leaders to sustain efforts to bring them back into the fold.

The caucus also reaffirmed its loyalty to Tinubu and pledged to deliver overwhelming support for his re-election in Kwara South, alongside other APC candidates in 2027.

It called on youths, women, elders, artisans and other party faithful to remain united, while urging security agencies to sustain efforts to protect lives and property across the senatorial district.

Troops of Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP) have neutralised a suspected Fulani terrorist during a gun battle with armed men riding motorcycles along Wanka Village in Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the encounter occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, when troops of Sector 2 OPEP manning a blocking position along the Wanka axis sighted an unconfirmed number of suspected terrorists approaching on several motorcycles.

The troops immediately engaged the armed men with superior firepower, forcing them to retreat in disarray.

During the exchange, one of the suspected terrorists was neutralised, while the fleeing members of the group abandoned four Honda motorcycles and other items.

Items recovered from the scene included two mobile phones, one packet of cigarettes and seven tablets of Tramadol.

The recovered items have been taken into military custody and are undergoing investigation to establish possible links to the suspected criminal network.

The operation underscores the continued deployment of troops to strategic blocking positions and patrol routes to disrupt the movement of armed groups and prevent attacks on vulnerable communities in Plateau State.

By: Inuwa Bwala. inuwabwala89@gmail.com

Let me start with an annecdote, about a top military officer during a regency period in a particular kingdom.
The officer so much detested the regent, whom he accused of sundry wrongs. He contemplated a coup de’tat, to remove the regent, even when he had no particular reason to do so.
He invited fellow officers, including people he hitherto disliked, but who shared the same hatred for the regime.
On the D-day, he arrived at the palace, with the intention to lure the regent out, so they could strike.
Within the palace, he heard people discussing about how good the regent had been, and how he had been working to improve the lot of his subjects.
He was taken around the palace and noticed that the man had actually been working for the good of his people.
He felt so embarrassed that he had been planning mutiny against a man, whom he had nothing against, but blind hatred.
He returned to his fellow conspirators and narrated his findings in the palace. He sang praises of the regent and canvassed for his confirmation as the king.
This seems to be the case of the tikToker, Aminu Town, who recently recanted his hostile nature against the government of Borno state, after seeing things on the other side.
I must first admit that, those who raised eyebrows about sudden turn of event in Borno, especially where some ardent critics become praise singers, were tight.
I
have read attendant noise and heard the anger in the voices of our loyal boys and I understand them.
They have been defending the government and governor Babagana Umara Zulum, day and night, using their own data, their own phones, their own sweat. And now they see a man who was abusing the Governor yesterday, today carrying camera to show Zulum’s projects.

I understand the pain. But my brothers, I want us to exercise calm and restraint so that we win the war.
I do not want to believe, the issue amounts to betrayal, rather, it is strategic wisdom.

If I may ask, would you give your enemy additional cutlass, when he comes for you, or would you collect the cutlass from him?

I do not know much about him, but I understand that, the fellow Aminu J Town is an influential TikToker. They say he has over one million followers. One million people who listen to him every day.
For months, he used his mouth to denegrade and to even abuse Governor Zulum.
He called white black, and called progress failure.

All the while. I know that he was ignored. And even now, I know as a matter of fact, that, the government did not invite him formally, rather, he may have heard people discuss and saw for himself, the fallacy of his campaigns. Some people would have wished the Government to arrest him, or act in such a way that could be misinterpreted as being too sensitive to criticism. But nobody blocked him, nobody harassed him, but he was allowed access to certain facts.
And like the General who wanted to strike, he realized he had been too presumptious and used the same mouth he used spoil, to now repair.
I think without castigating eachother as being responssiblw, we should regard it as a punisment he brought upon himself, for probating and reprobating.
Its like giving a thief the megaphone to shout in the market place telling his own sins.
To my mind, that is what has happened here.

If the government had paid its own loyal influencers to do the same video, the enemies would have said, the APC boys, are doing it for themselvesand people may not respect the message.
But when the man who was the enemy yesterday, comes today to show flyovers, to show Mega Schools, show hospitals, and confess that, Zulum is actually working”, then we have no cause to quarrel over it.
Perhaps, it is his own followers that may be shocked. We should be happy to listen to them, saying, even Aminu has surrendered. Then it must be true that Zulum is working.
We call this checkmate.
Our loyal influencers have not lost. In fact, their work has forced this surrender. Because if they had not defended Zulum all this time, the lies could have stood, as truth. Their consistence, pressures, and reseilence have brought out the truth and there may be no more rooms for others to hide..

It is not as if the government has abandoned or forgetten our loyal boys.
In Borno, we have a proverb: You don’t kill a barking dog, you give it the bone it was barking for, and it will keep quiet forever.