•…convenes emergency meeting in Ilorin
There is growing panic within the Kwara State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as members defect en masse to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in a bid for political survival.
Since its defeat in the 2019 gubernatorial election by the revolutionary Otoge movement, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has struggled to regain its footing in Kwara State. The party’s dwindling political influence has triggered the defection of several key figures, including former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed; Gbenga Makanjuola, a former deputy governorship candidate; Bolaji Abdullahi, a former Kwara Central senatorial candidate; Hon. Wahab Issa, a former member of the House of Representatives for Ilorin South/Ilorin East; Bibire Ajape, a former Ilorin East Local Government Chairman; and Idris Musa Buko, former House of Representatives candidate for Baruten/Kaiama federal constituency. These defections have further eroded the political relevance of the party’s leader, Dr. Bukola Saraki, both at the state and national levels.
In recent weeks, the Kwara PDP has lost more members to the APC and ADC than it had in the past few years. In a desperate bid to salvage the party, and by extension, the Saraki political dynasty, Dr. Saraki convened an emergency meeting yesterday.
Arriving in Ilorin on Tuesday for the meeting, which was attended by only a handful of PDP members, observers noted a significant decline in the crowd that came out to receive the former Senate President compared to previous visits.
Although Saraki publicly distanced himself from the ADC which has continued to poach members from the PDP, and pledged his loyalty to the party during the meeting, observers claim that his body language suggests otherwise, indicating a loss of confidence in the PDP’s future.
Pundits claim that Dr. Bukola Saraki’s influence, both in Kwara State and at the national level, has not only diminished, but his political future now appears uncertain. They argue that his current predicament reflects the inevitable fate of dynastic politicians who squander their political capital
