Kwara APC Elders Reject Peace Panel, Describe Reconciliation Move as ‘Too Late’

The internal crisis rocking the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has deepened, with the party’s Elders Caucus declining an invitation to appear before the recently inaugurated reconciliation committee, describing the initiative as belated and lacking sincerity.

In a letter addressed to the chairman of the committee, retired Colonel AbdulWahab Ademola Lawal, the caucus said it would not participate in the reconciliation process, arguing that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq only embraced dialogue after allegedly ignoring repeated appeals for unity within the party.

According to the elders, they had previously made several efforts to foster peace among party stakeholders across the state, but those initiatives were allegedly dismissed by the governor and his loyalists. The group maintained that the current reconciliation exercise appeared to be an “afterthought” prompted by growing discontent following the APC’s contentious primary elections.

The caucus further argued that genuine reconciliation should have been initiated before the primaries rather than after internal divisions had widened. It contended that many grievances now confronting the party could have been avoided if earlier calls for dialogue had received the necessary attention.

The reconciliation committee was constituted by the Kwara APC earlier this month with a mandate to engage aggrieved leaders and members, identify the causes of internal disputes, and restore unity ahead of the 2027 general elections. Committee chairman Lawal had appealed to all factions to embrace dialogue, describing the disagreements as a “family affair” capable of peaceful resolution.

The committee’s establishment followed weeks of heightened tensions within the ruling party after the outcome of its primary elections, which sparked protests, public exchanges and calls from several stakeholders for Governor AbdulRazaq to intervene in order to preserve party cohesion.

Despite rejecting the committee’s invitation, the APC Elders Caucus reiterated its commitment to the party’s overall success but insisted that any meaningful reconciliation must be founded on fairness, inclusiveness and genuine consultation rather than what it described as symbolic gestures.

The latest development underscores the continuing challenge facing the Kwara APC as it seeks to heal internal divisions and consolidate its ranks ahead of future political contests.