A fresh political crisis is brewing within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State following the emergence of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s cousin, Mallam AbdulRahman Giwa, as a governorship aspirant under the platform of the newly emerging National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The development has intensified speculations over widening cracks within the Kwara APC and alleged underground political realignments ahead of the battle to succeed Governor AbdulRazaq in 2027.

Mallam Giwa’s emergence under the opposition platform comes amid growing tensions surrounding the alleged struggle for control of the governorship ticket and disagreements over the presidency’s perceived position on the selection of the APC governorship candidate in the state.

Sources told SaharaReporters that Giwa’s decision to seek the governorship seat on the platform of an opposition party has introduced a fresh layer of intrigue into the already heated permutations surrounding the 2027 governorship contest.

Meanwhile, the development comes barely days after the NDC gained national attention following the alignment of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, and former Kano State governor, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, with the political platform.

Sources within the party disclosed that the NDC recently moved swiftly to establish structures in Kwara State, where it reportedly conducted a congress around the Noktel Hotel in the Government Reserved Area (GRA), Ilorin, last week.

During the congress, executive committee members of the party in the state were elected and inaugurated as part of efforts to strengthen the party’s presence ahead of the 2027 elections.

The entrance of Governor AbdulRazaq’s cousin into the governorship race under the NDC banner has since triggered widespread discussions across political camps in Kwara, especially within the APC where succession calculations have continued to generate internal rivalries.

The controversy deepened after campaign posters promoting Mallam AbdulRahman Giwa’s governorship ambition surfaced massively on social media platforms.

The posters were reportedly circulated by Alhaji Abdul-Razhaq Abubakar Jiddah, the Special Adviser to Governor AbdulRazaq on Special Duties.

A source explained that the involvement of a serving aide to the governor in promoting Giwa’s governorship aspiration has fueled allegations of possible tacit support or sympathy for the emerging political movement within certain circles of the current administration.

Several APC stakeholders who spoke privately expressed concern that the development could worsen existing divisions within the party ahead of the battle to determine Governor AbdulRazaq’s possible successor.

The latest political drama has also revived earlier allegations linking Governor AbdulRazaq with covert relationships with opposition figures and parties in the state.

Last year, political circles in Kwara were awash with claims that the governor was fraternising with leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), amid speculations of underground alliances ahead of future political realignments.

The allegations gained momentum after Governor AbdulRazaq and the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, were reportedly sighted together at the Alhamdulillah Mosque located in the Flower Garden area of GRA, Ilorin.

Their meeting had triggered widespread speculation over possible behind-the-scenes negotiations and strategic alignments ahead of the 2027 transition politics in the state.

However, both the Kwara State Government and the ADC leadership denied claims of any political alliance at the time.

The Magistrate Court sitting in Oke Eda, Akure, has remanded a traditional ruler and two others over alleged involvement in fraudulent land transactions and illegal land grabbing in Ondo State.

The defendants, Oba David Okunato, the traditional ruler of Osi community in Akure North council area, Tifase Folasade, and Nwaigbue Chijioke, alongside others said to be at large, were arraigned before the court as part of the government’s efforts to tackle illegal land dealings across the state.

The prosecution alleged that the monarch had earlier sold about 750 plots of land to a company for development purposes, but later went ahead to resell parts of the same property to several other buyers, leading to disputes over ownership.

Trouble reportedly started when the company returned to begin development on the land and discovered that several individuals were already claiming ownership of parts of the property through fresh allocations allegedly made by the monarch.

The development sparked disputes among the parties involved, forcing the matter to be taken back to the traditional ruler for clarification.

It was further alleged that the monarch later agreed to provide the company with another parcel of land as compensation, but allegedly went ahead to sell the same property to another buyer, further worsening the dispute.

The court subsequently ordered the remand of the defendants at the Olokuta Correctional Centre in Akure pending the fulfilment of their bail conditions.

The court granted bail to each of the defendants in the sum of Two Million Naira (₦2,000,000), with one surety each, who must be a recognised traditional ruler within the court’s Magisterial District, and a civil servant not below Level 14 who is resident within the Akure Magisterial District.

A former Chairman of the Agriculture and Non-Oil Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Prince Wale Oyekoya, opened a can of worms on the financial institution in Nigeria, Thursday, when he accused them of diverting funds meant for agricultural development into the real estate sector. 

Oyekoya, who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bama Farms Limited, said the action has worsened the financing crisis farmers across the country are facing.

He made the accusation at a panel session during the 2026 Agriculture and Agro-Allied Summit organised by the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce in Lagos. The theme of the summit was: “Ensuring Food Security in Nigeria: Innovations, Investments and Policy for a Resilient Future” .

Fielding questions on whether Nigeria has adequate data to identify genuine smallholder farmers at the point of loan disbursement, Oyekoya insisted that such information already exists within government structures through cooperatives and farmer clusters.

“Yes, there’s always data when you go to the ministries. When you go to any government establishment, that is why they say they deal with cooperatives and clusters. So every farmer, every stakeholder in farming in any state must be registered,” he said.

According to him, poor implementation and weak financial commitment remain major obstacles to sustainable agricultural development.

“I believe financial institutions are mostly the problem farmers have. I’m a living witness and I have so many experiences with them that when some of these funds are being given to the banks to be given to the farmers, most of them divert the funds to real estate,” he alleged.

He added that government, banks and private sector players all have roles to play in ensuring food security and sustainable growth in the sector.

However, Manager, Agribusiness and Non-Oil Export, Union Bank, Mr. Utomi Ezinwa, slightly disagreed with Oyekoya. He said that access to finance remained difficult for smallholder farmers because of the risks associated with fragmented production systems.

According to him, lenders are more willing to finance farmers when they operate in groups and have guaranteed markets through anchor arrangements.

“Some smallholder farmers can’t work alone. It is important that they work in association and link up to an anchor. When the market is guaranteed, we check the anchor himself, does he have capacity, does he have track record? There’s nothing stopping us from funding smallholder farmers,” he said.

Ezinwa noted that financing costs also remain a major burden on agricultural production.

“One of the major challenges apart from financing itself is the cost of the financing and we need to talk about it,” he added.

In his presentation, Guest speaker, Founder And Managing Director of Babban Gona , Mr. Kola Masha warned that Nigeria’s food security crisis could worsen if investment in agriculture and rural youth empowerment is not urgently scaled up.