One year after the 2024 local government elections in Kwara State, 193 councillorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have described the exercise as “a year of daylight robbery” that undermined democracy in the state.
Speaking at a press conference in Ilorin on Sunday, the group said they were marking the anniversary of “the day democracy was murdered in broad daylight,” alleging that the polls conducted by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) were manipulated to favour the All Progressives Congress (APC), which won all elective seats.
Their coordinator, Muftau Aromaradu, said the gathering was meant to reaffirm their stance on what they consider the “systematic destruction of democratic principles in Kwara State.”
“Exactly one year ago, shortly after the electoral heist of September 21st, 2024, we convened a similar press conference where we detailed the modus operandi of the electoral fraud perpetrated by KWSIEC and the APC,” he said.
“Today, we return not in defeat, but with renewed determination to expose the consequences of that fraudulent exercise and to chart a path toward genuine democratic governance in 2027.”
The candidates accused Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of presiding over what they termed “unprecedented misgovernance,” alleging that his administration had denied certain communities critical infrastructure projects based on political considerations.
“The governor’s petty political calculations have consistently trumped the developmental needs of Kwarans,” Aromaradu said.
“Communities that have historically supported democratic principles and good governance have been punished through the denial of federal and state interventions that should ordinarily be distributed based on need rather than political affiliation.”
They further alleged that elected local government chairmen had been stripped of authority and reduced to “ceremonial figures,” citing Ilorin East as an example of how local government autonomy has been eroded.
According to the group, the security situation in Kwara had worsened in the past year, particularly in the North and South senatorial districts, with farmers unable to access their farms and students fearful of travelling due to banditry and kidnapping.
“The fraudulently declared local government officials have proven completely incapable of addressing these security challenges, lacking both the legitimacy and the competence required to mobilise community support for security initiatives,” they said.
They added that ward development had stalled across the state, alleging that “many of the councillors are virtually unknown in their wards and have no connection whatsoever to the communities they purportedly represent.”
The PDP councillorship candidates said the anniversary served as a reminder of what they called “the catastrophic impact” of electoral malpractice on governance and security in Kwara State.
