Date: 2018-12-29

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has assured the teeming supporters of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara that Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is the 'authentic governorship candidate' of the party in the state.

The minister, who is the leader of APC in Kwara, gave the assurance on Friday in Ilorin after a meeting with the state's Party Executive Council led by Bashir Bolarinwa.

He said, contrary to the rumour in certain quarters that Abdulrazaq has been disqualified by a Kwara High Court, no part of the court decision nullified his candidacy.

"I read the court judgment and there is nowhere that talks about our candidate being disqualified. Of course, we have appealed the judgment for other reasons. "As at today, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq remains the authentic candidate of the party," he said.

The minister added: "As we speak today, he is in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, with Mr. President to launch the presidential campaign of the party.

"He will be given the flag by the party National Executive as the authentic governorship candidate of APC in Kwara.

"The other faction can go to whatever length they want to go circulating the fake news that he has been disqualified; they can never succeed."

It may be recalled that a Kwara High Court sitting in Ilorin had, in a recent judgment, recognised the Executive Council of the Ishola Balogun-Fulani faction of the APC in Kwara.

The faction was dissolved by the National Working Committee of the APC after the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; and Kwara Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, defected from APC to PDP.

The minister expressed the confidence that, come 2019, the APC would certainly win in Kwara State.

(NAN)