Ilorin Elders Reject Alleged Imposition of AbdulRazaq’s Preferred Successor

Jonathan Eze

The Ilorin Emirate Political Advisory Council has openly rejected the alleged endorsement of Ambassador Abdulfatah Yahaya Seriki-Gambari as Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq’s preferred candidate for the 2027 governorship election, warning against what it described as an attempt to impose a successor on the people of Kwara State.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday after extensive consultations with political leaders, elders, technocrats, professionals and stakeholders across the Ilorin Emirate, the council declared that the governor’s reported decision was purely personal and did not reflect the collective position or aspiration of the Emirate.

The statement, signed by the council’s National Coordinator, Dr. Yakub Yahaya Oloriegbe, and Secretary, Lt. Col. Abubakar Edun, stressed that the alleged endorsement lacked broad consultation and ignored the delicate political, social and cultural realities of Kwara State.

According to the council, the process that allegedly produced the endorsement excluded critical stakeholders including traditional rulers, religious leaders, political actors, community elders and opinion moulders from meaningful engagement.

“The Ilorin Emirate is built on consultation, mutual respect, inclusion and collective responsibility,” the statement noted, warning that no individual should undermine those longstanding values through unilateral political decisions or attempts to force political outcomes on the people.

While clarifying that its position was not a personal attack on Ambassador Seriki-Gambari, whom it described as a respected son of the Emirate with every constitutional right to contest, the council insisted that it strongly opposed the manner in which his emergence was allegedly being orchestrated.

The group further called on traditional institutions, youth groups, women organisations, civil society actors and political stakeholders to resist every form of political imposition, coercion and manipulation ahead of the 2027 elections.

It maintained that only a transparent, inclusive and democratic process rooted in fairness, equity and openness can guarantee peace, unity and political stability in Kwara State.