Your Excellency,
We, the concerned members of the APC Youth Forum in Ajaokuta Local Government Area, feel compelled to bring to your attention a dangerous political development that threatens the unity and stability of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ajaokuta.
As the Executive Governor of Kogi State and the constitutional leader of the APC in the state, it is important that Your Excellency is aware of the growing internal manipulation allegedly being orchestrated by Hon. Lawal Idrisu, former Rep Member, whose recent political actions strongly suggest a deliberate attempt to weaken the party from within.
Historically, APC in Ajaokuta has enjoyed relative peace and unity. For years, the party remained strong, organized, and electorally dominant without any serious internal crisis. However, the political atmosphere began to deteriorate during the build up to the 2023 general elections when external political interests and opportunistic actors introduced divisive politics into the system.
Hon. Lawal, who benefited immensely from the APC platform, was elected twice in 2015 and 2019 under the party. His victories were not accidental, they were the result of the political structure and support built by the APC and the leadership of former Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who invested heavily in strengthening the party across Kogi State. Despite enjoying the goodwill of the party, Hon. Lawal abandoned the APC in 2023 and contested under another political platform against the very party that built his political career. Such action was a direct affront to party supremacy and political loyalty.
The electorate of Ajaokuta responded decisively at the polls. Hon. Lawal suffered a humiliating defeat, managing to win only two wards out of the fourteen wards in the local government. He came a distant third with barely 3,000 votes, while the APC candidate Rt Hon Sanni Egidi secured victory in eleven wards with over 12,000 votes, reaffirming the overwhelming support for the APC in Ajaokuta.
However, political observers noted that the votes he obtained by Hon Lawal indirectly strengthened opposition forces in other contests, particularly benefiting opposition candidates contesting against the APC in Kogi Central seat making Sen. Natash Akpoti-Uduagan wining in some parts of Ajaokuta
In the spirit of reconciliation and political maturity, Your Excellency allowed him to return to the APC after the governorship election, prioritizing unity and peaceful coexistence within the party. Sadly, recent developments indicate that Hon. Lawal may once again be engaging in political activities capable of destabilizing the party. His renewed political ambitions and open confrontation with the performing APC House of Representatives member raise serious questions about his true intentions. Many party stakeholders fear that this is part of a familiar political pattern, creating internal crises within the APC structure only to weaken the party ahead of Gubernatorial elections and subsequently align with opposition interests onlike he does in the last election by supporting one Muri Ajaka of the SDP.
Your Excellency, political parties are rarely destroyed by external opposition alone. More often than not, they are weakened by individuals within who prioritize personal ambition over collective progress. The APC in Ajaokuta cannot afford to ignore these warning signs. The youth and grassroots supporters of the party are increasingly concerned about the activities of political jobbers who maintain suspicious alliances with opposition figures while claiming loyalty to the APC.It is therefore necessary to sound this alarm early.
Your Excellency must be aware of the “termites within the wood” individuals who appear loyal on the surface but whose actions quietly undermine the party’s strength and unity.
We respectfully urge Your Excellency to closely observe these developments and call Hon. Lawal to order before internal sabotage begins to erode the strong political structure the APC has built over the years in Ajaokuta. The APC remains the political vehicle of progress and stability in Kogi State, and its unity must be protected at all costs.
We trust in your leadership to safeguard the integrity of our great party.
Signed:
Abdulmalik Mohammed
For: APC Youth Forum
Ajaokuta Local Government Area
