The All Progressives Congress in Kwara State staged a mega rally in Ilorin on Saturday. Organisers described it as a 20,000-man march. It attracted party faithful from Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, Asa and Moro local government areas. The rally was held to canvass support for President Bola Tinubu, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the party’s governorship candidate, Salihu Yakubu-Danladi.
Kwara has been an APC state since 2019. Governor AbdulRazaq won re-election in 2023. The state is in the North-Central, a zone where the APC and PDP compete fiercely. The 2027 election is approaching. The APC wants to hold Kwara and deliver its votes for Tinubu. The rally was organised by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Suleiman Sai Kayi. It began at the General Hospital Roundabout and moved through major streets. Supporters wore APC-branded uniforms and caps with inscriptions like “My Vote is for APC” and “#Iwaju LaNlo.”
Sai Kayi said the rally was organised to appreciate the governor’s performance in infrastructure, education and worker welfare. He described Yakubu-Danladi’s emergence as a continuity agenda. “The youth are more than any other age group in this rally,” he said. “We are gathered to appreciate Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for giving us SYD. SYD is part of our own constituency.”
The Senior Adviser and Counsellor to the Governor, Sa’adu Salahu, urged voters to assess candidates based on records, not opposition campaigns. He said the governor’s leadership had discouraged political violence. “Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has never encouraged political thuggery, in contrast to the style of the past government,” he said. He ruled out the possibility of a rainbow coalition gaining traction in Kwara. He urged party members to sustain peaceful conduct.
The rally is a show of strength. It mobilises the base. It also signals that the APC is not taking Kwara for granted. The opposition is fragmented. The APC wants to project unity. The crowd size matters. The message matters more.
Winners: Tinubu, who gains a show of support. Governor AbdulRazaq, whose record is praised. Yakubu-Danladi, who gains visibility. The APC, which demonstrates mobilisation. Losers: The opposition, which faces a united APC. Critics who see the rally as political theatre. Voters who face another campaign cycle. No serious losers if the rally is peaceful.
Bottom Line: Twenty thousand people marched for the APC in Ilorin. The party is mobilising early. The governorship candidate is positioned as continuity. The opposition has ground to cover. Kwara is not a safe seat. But the APC is acting as if it is.