2027 Politics: APC Accuses PDP Supporters of Thuggery in Kwara
The All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kwara State have traded accusations following the disruption of an empowerment programme organised by the Kwara Central APC Women Leader, Tawakalitu Agaka, popularly known as Hajia Tawa. The programme, held on Saturday at Agaka’s family residence in Ilorin, was organised for women, youths and widows, with cash support reportedly distributed to 200 beneficiaries. Trouble reportedly started when a group of people alleged to be PDP supporters arrived at the venue and began chanting and verbally confronting Agaka and some APC supporters. A video from the event showed opposing groups exchanging chants as security personnel intervened to prevent the situation from escalating. The incident has since triggered a war of words between the two major political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections. Reacting on Sunday, the Kwara State Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Communications, Ibraheem Abdullateef, accused supporters of former Senate President Bukola Saraki and PDP governorship candidate Bolakale Kawu of attempting to reintroduce political thuggery into the state. Abdullateef said Agaka had committed no offence by organising the empowerment programme and mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and other APC candidates. He described the incident as a return of thuggery and hooliganism, while urging residents to condemn what he called anti-democratic behaviour. The PDP, however, rejected the allegation and accused the APC-led administration of labelling politically conscious residents as thugs because they opposed the empowerment programme.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Adewara, said the people involved were concerned residents expressing dissatisfaction with the government, rather than political thugs. The PDP also questioned the timing of the programme, alleging that the community had been neglected for years before the assistance was introduced ahead of the 2027 elections. The opposition party demanded an apology from Governor AbdulRazaq over the comments attributed to his aide and maintained that residents had the right to reject what it described as politically motivated gestures. Despite the confrontation, security personnel reportedly prevented the incident from escalating into violence, and the empowerment programme continued. The development comes as political activities intensify across Kwara ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the APC and PDP positioning themselves for a keen contest.
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