Kwara APC Intra party Conflict: Otoge Spirit Revived As Massive Crowd Welcomes G15 Members To Ilorin

Huge crowds swamped the Geri Alimi underpass, Ilorin as early as 8 am on Monday and they were later joined by a handful of people who were at the Tunde Idiagbon International Airport, Ilorin to welcome members of the newly famous ‘G15 group’ which comprises Kwara State APC bigwigs who have picked holes in the outcomes of the primary elections held recently in the state by the party.

Members of the group including 10 guber aspirants and serving federal lawmakers have continued to voice strong objections to the outcome of the May 22, 2026 guber primary that produced Speaker Salihu Yakubu Danladi as the state APC gubernatorial candidate.

G15 members who arrived in Ilorin and were welcomed by large crowds include Senator Lola Ashiru, Senator Sadiq Umar, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Dr Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Dr. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa (BOB), Rep Omar Bio, Barrster Dele Belgore, SAN, Dr. Muideen AbdulAzeez Salako, Alhaji Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki-Gambari, Alhaji Audu Tajudeen, Dr. Toyin Alabi, Rep Yinka Aluko, Rep Tijani Ismail, Captain Mahmud, and Rep Ahmed Saba.

The party supporters and members gathered at the Geri Alimi Underpass, Ilorin, from where they left for major streets of the state capital while displaying various banners to show their displeasure, communicate their anger and show grievances against the outcome of the state APC primaries.

They marched through Ilorin and got cheered on by massive crowds.

It was somewhat a revival of ‘Otoge’, the socio-political movement that sprang up in the state in 2018. Otoge means ‘enough is enough’ in English.  Recall that Otoge which was a movement that symbolized a collective push against a political dynasty got a political structure that had controlled the state for close to 40 years dislodged from power in 2019.

The party members carried placards with inscriptions that include ‘Kwarans Reject Another Political Overlord’, Kwara Rejects Another Godfather’, and ‘AA is a master of use and dump’.

The crowds later gathered under the post office flyover where the aggrieved party leaders gave speeches.

Talking to journalists, Senator Saliu Mustapha urged Governor AbdulRazaq to embrace fairness, inclusion and internal democracy while warning that political structures built on exclusion and imposition rarely endure.

‘The people of Kwara have spoken before. They are speaking again. And when the time comes, their collective voice will once again, determine the future of our state’ he said.

Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe also clarified and submitted that the state APC bigwigs are not only picking holes in the gubernatorial primary election but also other primaries conducted by the party in the state.

 ‘It’s not only about governorship primary alone. When we talk about the nomination process, we are referring to all the primaries, House of Assembly, House of Reps, Senate, and governorship and what we are saying is that there should be inclusiveness and everyone should be involved.

As you can see when we posed for a group photograph with our elders here. We have the chairman of the Elders’ caucus, Chief J.B Ayeni, who is 84 years old. We have Senator Ahmed, who is about 80. We have Senator Ajadi. So, in the state APC, we have only three former senators. All the three of us are here. Myself for Central, Senator Ajadi from South, and Senator Ahmed. None of them were made to get involved. We have people who fought for APC to emerge in 2019. Barrister Jawondo SAN who represented us in court. We wouldn’t have been here today as APC if we had lost the case against Honorable Fulani of that time. But more importantly, we have a leadership that doesn’t involve anybody as far as party structure is concerned, as far as governance is concerned, and as far as this primary is concerned. And that’s why all of us have come together to say that we have to rescue our state and our party.

The Otoge we did in 2019, we have the worst form of it now in terms of imposition, and that’s what we are rejecting it’ he added.

A statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by the G15 group noted that following consultations with top APC stakeholders and other national leaders in respect of developments within the party in the state which centred on unity in the state APC, the future of Kwara politics and the success of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, they had felt it important to make their grievances public and fight for the soul of the party.

‘We have come to the firm conclusion that we owe it to our supporters, to the people of Kwara State, and to generations yet unborn to subordinate our individual political aspirations to one collective ambition—the rescue of our party and the rescue of Kwara State’ the statement said.

The group argued that the OTOGE movement had represented a popular struggle against exclusion, impunity, political domination and poor governance, adding that those ideals have however been gradually eroded.

They alleged that the APC in Kwara State has become increasingly divided while governance and party administration have become overly centralized.

‘Sadly, this is not the Kwara State we all bargained for. This is not the Kwara State we promised our people during the OTOGE Revolution’ they added.

The group noted that Kwara State deserves a government that listens to its citizens, accommodates diverse interests and promotes inclusive leadership.

Reaffirming their loyalty to President Bola Tinubu and pledging continued support for his administration, they urged the president and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC to ensure the emergence of a leadership in Kwara State that will reflect the wishes of majority of the party members.

The G15 has also presented a ten-point demand to the president and National Working Committee of APC.

They have asked the party leaders at the national level to reject the outcomes of what they described as flawed and controversial party primaries in the state while demanding the endorsement of a more popular and credible alternative, and a merit-based selection process that prioritizes competence and acceptability over political patronage.

The group also demanded transparent and inclusive party administration, an end to political godfatherism, protection of dissenting voices, accountable governance, genuine reconciliation based on justice and fairness, and an urgent review of the state’s security strategy.

Rejecting what they described as attempts by a minority within the party to impose its preferences on the majority, the G15 leaders also noted that ‘democracy derives its legitimacy from the consent of the majority, not from the preferences of a select few’.-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079,  08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you