A socio-political group, the 52-Youth Coalition, has declared support for the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 while rejecting the leadership of Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
The coalition, comprising young professionals across Kwara Central, urged Kwarans to vote for President Tinubu at the national level but back the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the governorship and National Assembly seats in the state.
This was contained in a press conference addressed by the Deputy Central Coordinator of the group, Issa Abdulgafar Arikewuyo, on Saturday.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Arikewuyo accused Governor AbdulRazaq of failing both as a leader within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and as the chief executive officer of Kwara State.
He said, “Governor AbdulRazaq has failed as a party leader and as a governor. Within his own party, he has governed not as a leader who listens to stakeholders but as a sole administrator who treats the party as his personal property. This is precisely why the Kwara APC has been rocked by internal crisis after internal crisis.”
The coalition expressed deep concern over what it described as the worsening security situation in the state, alleging that communities have been ravaged by banditry and kidnapping due to absent leadership.
Addressing state expenditures, Arikewuyo faulted the administration’s financial priorities, pointing to projects such as the ₦30 billion renovation of Kwara Hotel, multi-billion naira convention centres, and the ₦2 billion Ilorin Visual Arts Centre, which he noted has remained unopened two years after completion.
He added that the state’s healthcare system was undergoing a “quiet collapse,” with fewer than 100 medical doctors in government employment serving a population of over four million.
Defending its split-voting strategy, known locally as the ‘Rainbow Coalition,’ the group stated that Kwarans have historically demonstrated political sophistication by supporting presidential candidates of one party while electing state officials from another.
“We are supporting the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because, among the options currently available, none has demonstrated that he is better than him. But our support for the President at the national level does not extend to this state government’s failures,” Arikewuyo said.
The group called on residents across the 16 local government areas of Kwara State to embrace fresh leadership ahead of the 2027 general elections.