Low turnout mars PDP congress in Kwara, as prominent members stay-off

There was low turnout of members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, during the state congress held in Kwara state, today, September 25th 2021.

The internecine war within the state chapter of the party may likely be responsible for this poor turnout of party members for the congress.

Prominent among the causes of this boycott is the power play between the former President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki and a former Minister and current Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies , NILDS, Prof Abubakar Sulaiman.

A group loyal to Sulaiman had in press release prior to today’s congress stated that the current executives who were elected in 2018 are expected to spend four years tenure according to the Constitution of the party, vowing to drag the party to court.

Findings show that the former Kwara political lord has received the blessings of the national leadership of the party to change the executives of the party in Kwara state and take control, a development which surprisingly is being resisted by Sulaiman, a beneficiary of Saraki’s patronage, having been assisted with his present appointment during Saraki’s reign as President of the Senate.

According to an inside source, Sulaiman had been avoiding prior political interface with Saraki, choosing to offer excuses for his absence at pressing political engagements.

Many prominent members of the party also stayed away from the Congress in apparent support for the constitutional rights of the present executives across the 16 local government areas of the state.

With this face-off, there is the likelihood of a forced takeover of the Kwara PDP by Saraki, since he enjoins the support of the national secretariat of the party.

The fate of the executives and members loyal to Sulaiman is dangling, and may be determined at a meeting to hold sometime next week in Ilorin.