A fresh political dispute has erupted within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State after the owner of a building occupied by the party’s Elders Forum in Ilorin West Local Government Area reportedly ejected the group and handed over the property to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
SaharaReporters learnt that the property belongs to the family of the late Alhaji Obalowu Shuaib Agarawu, who was the first elected Chairman of Ilorin Local Government Area.
The development is politically significant as Ilorin West is the home local government area of Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and forms part of the Kwara Central Senatorial District, where the governor and Senator Saliu Mustapha are now set to face each other in the 2027 election.
Speaking on behalf of the Obalowu family, Mallam Shuaibu Obalowu said the decision to eject the APC Elders Forum followed disagreements over the use of the building and what the family considered an attempt by the elders to exercise control over areas of the property that were not allocated to them.
According to him, the disagreement escalated after members of the APC Elders Forum allegedly attempted to prevent members of the G15 political bloc, some of whom are sympathetic to Senator Saliu Mustapha, from holding a meeting on another floor of the same building.
“The APC Elders Forum overstepped their boundaries when they tried to stop members of the G15 who are sympathetic to Senator Saliu Mustapha from using a part of the building for their meeting,” Obalowu said.
He said the family had allowed the APC to use the property for almost eight years without charging the party regular rent, but became displeased when some party elders allegedly attempted to dictate how other portions of the building could be used.
“For almost eight years, our family gave the APC the building almost rent-free, but last month, the party and its elders tried to stop an opposing camp from gathering on another floor in the same building. That was too arrogant of them.
“This is why we showed them who the real landlord is by removing them entirely from the building,” he added.
Obalowu said the family subsequently decided to hand over the entire three-storey building to the PDP for political activities.
“We are happy to hand over the entire three-storey building to the PDP. This building is now the campaign headquarters for the re-election of Senator Saliu Mustapha in Ajikobi Ward,” he said.
The move effectively transforms a property previously used by the APC Elders Forum into a political base for Mustapha, who left the APC in August 2026 and subsequently obtained the PDP ticket to contest the Kwara Central Senatorial seat in the 2027 general election.
Mustapha, who represents Kwara Central in the Senate, announced his resignation from the APC in a letter dated August 14, 2026, addressed to the party chairman of Gambari Ward 1 in Ilorin East Local Government Area.
He said his decision followed weeks of consultations with supporters, constituents and political stakeholders across Kwara State, citing developments within the APC and the direction of the party’s leadership in the state.
Hours after leaving the APC, Mustapha picked the PDP senatorial ticket for Kwara Central, with the party formally presenting him with its nomination for the 2027 election.
His defection has intensified political realignments in Kwara, particularly within the APC, where Governor AbdulRazaq is also seeking the Kwara Central senatorial seat.
AbdulRazaq had been screened by the APC for the senatorial ticket after emerging as the only aspirant reported to have purchased the party’s nomination and expression-of-interest forms for the position.
The governor is expected to leave office in May 2027 after completing his second term and is seeking to represent Kwara Central in the Senate.
Mustapha, meanwhile, has positioned himself for a return to the National Assembly under the platform of the PDP after his departure from the APC.
The senator has also publicly acknowledged that he is now politically opposed to AbdulRazaq’s camp, while saying that his defection from the APC did not amount to abandoning President Bola Tinubu. He said he remained supportive of Tinubu’s re-election bid despite moving to the PDP.
The political dispute surrounding the building is therefore coming against the backdrop of a broader struggle for political influence in Kwara Central, where the two politicians were previously members of the same ruling party.
The G15 bloc referenced by Obalowu has emerged as part of the political realignment around Mustapha following developments within the Kwara APC.