The Elders Caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the national and state leadership of the party to endorse its recommendation that Kwara North Senatorial District should produce the next Governor of the state in 2027.

The caucus said allowing the party's governorship candidate to emerge from Kwara North would help build a 'United Kwara' in which no part of the state is denied access to the seat of power.

Addressing a press conference in Ilorin on Saturday, the Chairman of the Kwara APC Elders Caucus, Chief James Bamisaiye Ayeni, said Kwara North remains the only senatorial district in the state that has not produced a governor since the return to democracy in 1999.

Ayeni, a former Commissioner for Environment, spoke alongside Senator Ahmed Mohammed, Barrister Salman Jawondo and Barrister Teju Oguntoye. He said Kwara South has produced a governor for two terms of eight years, while Kwara Central would have held the office for 20 years after the completion of the tenure of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

He said the caucus' position was anchored on justice, equity, fairness and togetherness, and urged party leaders to commence a process that would produce a consensus candidate from among aspirants from Kwara North.

"We, as elders of the APC, are in total support of the leadership and the state executive of the APC in Kwara State to set in motion the process, which shall produce a consensus candidate for the party from amongst the aspirants from Kwara North Senatorial District in due course.

"We therefore appeal to our amiable President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the APC National and Kwara State party leadership, to endorse our noble recommendation that Kwara North Senatorial District should produce the next Governor for Kwara State in 2027.

"We believe that this would encourage the ongoing efforts to build a 'United Kwara' where no section of the state is cheated or denied legitimate access to the exalted office of the Governor of the state," Ayeni said.

He argued that the zone has consistently supported the APC and the idea of a united Kwara, pointing to voting patterns in the 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections.

"We would like us to note that Kwara North Senatorial District, all along, has always demonstrated patriotism, undiluted loyalty and sustained commitment to the APC in particular, and has also supported a United Kwara in general.

"This is evident by the results of the last three general elections in 2015, 2019 and 2023, during which Kwara North Senatorial District voted massively for the APC and was second to Kwara Central Senatorial District in the votes cast.

"Significantly in 2015, when Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed from Kwara South contested on the banner of the APC, the people of Kwara North returned more votes than even the Kwara South where the party candidate came from.

"Additionally in 2023, when PDP attempted to lure Kwara North out of the APC by fielding Alhaji Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi as its gubernatorial candidate, the people of Kwara North voted massively against his choice by supporting the APC candidate then, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

"This was to enable him complete his constitutionally guaranteed second term in office. The votes of the people of Kwara North were indeed second to those from Kwara Central.

"From the foregoing, it is no doubt that these acts have proven and demonstrated succinctly the loyalty and commitment of the people of Kwara North to the APC. These are not limited to the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections but were also reflected in the Presidential and National Assembly election results."

Also speaking, Jawondo and Oguntoye said Kwara North has individuals with the competence and capacity to govern the state from 2027. They described as a personal opinion the call for a Kwara South aspirant to emerge as the APC governorship flag-bearer in the forthcoming primaries.