Senator Salihu Mustapha Defects from APC to PDP in Kwara

Senator Salihu Mustapha has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State. The move triggered immediate conflicting reactions from party leadership and the senator's camp.

In Ilorin, 51 APC ward chairmen from the Kwara Central Senatorial District dismissed the defection as a personal decision that does not undermine the party's grassroots strength. Led by Baba Gobir Abdullahi, the chairmen asserted that Mustapha's 2023 electoral victory resulted from the party's ideology and the leadership of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq rather than the senator's individual efforts. The group subsequently passed a vote of confidence in Governor AbdulRazaq and endorsed Salihu Yakubu Danladi for the governorship.

Alabi Abdulkareem, a senior aide to Senator Mustapha, countered these claims by arguing that the APC's rapid public response and emergency press conferences indicate the party is rattled. Abdulkareem further alleged that many ward chairmen remaining in the APC are sympathetic to the senator's decision.