Top Kwara Opposition Candidate, Gobir, Steps Down for AbdulRasaq

The governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Kwara State, Waziri Yakubu Gobir, has officially stepped down for the incumbent Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, saying this is in the interest of the state. 

In a statement he issued after a brief meeting with the governor, Gobir said he has had extensive deliberations with the governor over the past few weeks on how to further move the state forward.

The step comes barely 24 hours after the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) House of Representatives candidate in the February 25 election, Hon. Wahab Oladimeji Issa, and other top PDP chieftains defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“My fellow Kwarans, in the last leg of this election trail, it has become apparent that the best way to achieve the goal we have before us is to forge alliances and combine ideologies. To this end, the Young Progressives Party hereby adopts the incumbent governor and gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, in the upcoming gubernatorial election,” the statement read.

“I assure you that this decision is not one that was made lightly. It was made after weeks of deliberation and a final concession that the incumbent governor considers some of the policies outlined in my manifesto (the state of Kwara) alongside his equally well-intentioned 10-year Sustainable Development Plan (2021-2030). This ensures that, although I will be conceding my place in the gubernatorial race, the action plan that I feel addresses the peculiar needs of some 2,764 communities, 193 wards and 16 local government areas in Kwara gets fused into the implementation of the Governor’s Development Plan.

“Further to this agreement, it is understood that the governor, upon winning the election, will form a government that further accommodates allies, including members of our own party.

“My fellow Kwarans, a new dawn is upon us, not just for our beloved state but for our nation as well. With our support for Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, and the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we are convinced that Nigeria is undoubtedly about to commence a journey of Renewed Hope.”