PDP demands removal of Kwara governor over insecurity
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has called for the declaration of a state of emergency in Kwara State and the suspension of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in the “interest of justice, morality, and public safety.”
PDP’s state chairman, Isa Bawa Adamu, and some party leaders, during a world press conference on Monday, at the party’s secretariat in Ilorin, reacted to a trending video of some bandits arrested in Auchi, Edo State, by men of the Nigerian Army.
The PDP said that in the video, the suspects categorically alleged that officials of the state government supplied them with AK-47 rifles and a government-crested operational vehicle for their activities.
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Consequently, the PDP urged the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to cease communicating serious security issues to AbdulRazaq, whom they described as a security risk.
“As a responsible political organisation and critical stakeholder in the Kwara project, the PDP is compelled to address the people of Kwara State, Nigerians at large, and the international community on a most disturbing, weighty, and grave national security concern that has now placed our state in the national spotlight for the wrong reasons,” it said.
The party lamented that the allegation is coming at a time when the people of Kwara State have experienced unimaginable killings and kidnappings by criminal bandits.
PDP’s state secretary Abdulrahman Kayode described the claims as “grave and disturbing” and warned that if left unaddressed, the allegations could erode public trust and worsen insecurity in the state. He urged federal authorities to intervene and investigate the matter.
Kayode linked the video to a surge in violent attacks in several local government areas, including Ifelodun, Patigi, Edu, Ekiti, Isin, and Irepodun.
Gov Abdulrazaq rejects PDP’s call
Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, has rejected calls by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the state over alleged links between government officials and bandits.
In response, Governor Abdulrazaq’s Senior Special Assistant on Communications, Ibraheem Abdullateef, dismissed the PDP’s claims as politically motivated ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial election.
He described the demand for a state of emergency as “baseless” and accused the party of using fake news to create unrest.
The Kwara State Government had earlier denied similar claims circulating on social media.
Commissioner for Communications, Mrs. Bolanle Olukoju, stated that no security agency, including the Nigerian Army, arrested armed bandits in Ifelodun or any part of Kwara, and that the state government has no authority to issue AK-47 rifles.
