Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, says leaving the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has never been an option for him.
He said this while reacting to the defection of his followers to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from the APC.
The Minister, who blamed Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara for the development, pleaded with those who have left to return to the party.
“My attention has been drawn to media reports on the alleged defection of some of my supporters in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).”
“On my part, as a founding member of the APC, as someone who has toiled endlessly to build the party and as one who has worked with stakeholders to deliver Kwara State to the APC, leaving the party is not an option.
“I am a bonafide member of the APC and I have no intention of leaving the party.
“All through my political career, I have always remained loyal to any party in which I have found myself. That is not about to change now. I want to use this opportunity to once again call on the leadership of our party to urgently and decisively address the issues that have forced some members of our party in Kwara to contemplate leaving the party.
“I wish to state categorically that despite the fact that the supporters are genuinely aggrieved at the way and manner they have been treated by the Kwara Governor and his supporters, against the backdrop of their immeasurable contributions to the massive victory of our party in the state in 2019, leaving the party is not the solution.
“We have taken the grievances of our supporters to the highest level of our party and we have cause to believe that everything will be done to address the grievances and unite the party ahead of the 2023 elections.
“I am therefore appealing to those who may have left to reconsider their stand and return to their natural habitat,” he said in a statement.
Mohammed and Abdulrazaq have been locked in horns for the control of the Kwara chapter of the ruling party.
His supporters left after the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC recognised the governor’s faction
