EXCLUSIVE: Kwara Governor AbdulRazaq Mobilises Traditional Rulers With Millions Of Naira To Endorse 2027 Agenda Amid Rising Insecurity

Multiple sources within government, the traditional council confirmed that the monarchs are being mobilised for a carefully choreographed visit to President Bola Tinubu in Aso Villa, where they are expected to publicly back the governor's preferred political arrangement for 2027.

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has been accused of approving a payout of millions of naira to first-class traditional rulers as part of a deal to secure their endorsement ahead of his 2027 succession plan.

Multiple sources within government, the traditional council confirmed that the monarchs are being mobilised for a carefully choreographed visit to President Bola Tinubu in Aso Villa, where they are expected to publicly back the governor's preferred political arrangement for 2027.

The sources said the trip would be packaged a “thank-you visit” to the President for recent federal security interventions.

The development comes at a time when Kwara North and parts of Kwara South are grappling with repeated kidnappings, killings, and bandit attacks — a situation that many residents say the state government has failed to decisively address.

SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that two Chinese nationals working on the BUA-funded Bode Saadu–Kaiama–Kosubosu road project were abducted on Monday by heavily armed gunmen.

The workers were reportedly seized in broad daylight, heightening fears across the state’s northern corridor.

For weeks, communities in Kaiama, Baruten, Moro, and parts of Ifelodun have complained of increased bandit activities, with several residents abducted, and farmlands abandoned due to fear of attacks.

Despite these security challenges, government attention appears focused on political consolidation ahead of 2027.

According to highly placed insiders, Governor AbdulRazak is determined to push a Kwara North governorship zoning agenda, which he is packaging as a fairness-driven consensus, but which critics say is designed to install his protégé — Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly.

Danladi-Salihu, from Baruten in Kwara North, has long been rumoured to be the governor’s anointed successor. Political actors say the sudden, coordinated push for zoning the governorship to Kwara North is not organic but “a well-funded machinery to sell a predetermined outcome.”

One party leader told SaharaReporters: “Let’s be honest — this is not about equity or rotation. It’s a succession plot dressed up as zoning. Government officials and palace allies are working hand in hand to manufacture consent.”

Sources say first-class traditional rulers—many of whom owe their appointments or upgrades to the AbdulRazak administration—are being used as “cultural and moral validators” of the 2027 project.

Over the past two weeks, several monarchs from Kwara North and South have intensified public advocacy for the zoning arrangement, issuing statements and holding town hall meetings in what analysts describe as an unusual and unprecedentedly coordinated intervention in partisan politics.

A major meeting recently held at the Ajase-Ipo Descendants Union (AIDU) Hall brought first-class monarchs from across the state together. While insecurity was officially on the agenda, insiders say discussions were dominated by the 2027 succession plan and the need to secure southern monarchs’ support.

Some of the stakeholders who attended the meeting told SaharaReporters: “The message was clear: support a Kwara North candidate. Everything else was secondary. Some of us expressed concerns about the timing, especially with insecurity worsening. But the deal had already been sealed.”

After the meeting, multiple sources confirmed that southern monarchs agreed to “stand with” the Kwara North agenda. Previously SaharaReporters reported that panic and tears swept through Eruku town in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State on Tuesday evening as terrorists stormed a branch of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), killing three worshippers and abducting several others, including the pastor.

Sources told SaharaReporters that the attackers invaded the church during a meeting and immediately opened fire, sending worshippers running for cover.

Three members were shot dead on the spot before the assailants seized an unspecified number of people.

A top source from government circle revealed that each first-class traditional ruler is to receive ₦100 million, split into two tranches: ₦50 million paid upfront, ₦50 million to be released after the Abuja trip—but only if the monarchs deliver the expected endorsement to the President.

A senior government source described the arrangement as “the most expensive royal mobilisation in the state’s history.”

One source familiar with the transaction said: “It is not charity. It is a political investment. The governor wants the monarchs to speak with one voice in Aso Villa. The second payment depends on how convincingly they sell the zoning agenda to the President.”

To avoid public scrutiny, the Aso Villa visit is being framed as a gratitude visit to thank President Tinubu for recent security deployments in the state—despite the fact that the security situation continues to deteriorate with no significant arrests or breakthroughs.

Meanwhile, the Kwara South Youth Congress (KSYC) has condemned the recent political endorsements by several traditional rulers in the zone, accusing them of turning a blind eye to a deepening security crisis while aligning themselves with partisan interests ahead of the 2027 governorship race.

In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Adejare Bashir, the group faulted the monarchs for what it described as “a tragic misplacement of priorities” at a time when communities across Kwara South are grappling with relentless waves of kidnappings, killings, and attacks on homes and worship centres.

Bashir lamented that over 200 residents have been abducted in recent months, with many others killed, while some traditional rulers have been forced to flee their palaces amid violent incursions.

“Despite the rising toll of violence and the heartbreak suffered by families paying ransoms to rescue their loved ones, our revered traditional rulers appear more focused on endorsing a candidate from Kwara North,” Bashir said.

“This behaviour is a profound disrespect to the victims who have died and their grieving families.”

According to the KSYC, the monarchs' actions not only betray the anguish of the people but also cast doubts on their neutrality—an attribute traditionally associated with their revered stools.

Bashir further noted that several governorship aspirants from Kwara South, across multiple political platforms, have already indicated interest in the 2027 race, yet the traditional rulers have publicly aligned themselves in ways that suggest partisan leanings rather than fairness or equity.

He pointed to the monarchs’ earlier gathering at Ajase Ipo High School, widely interpreted as an indirect endorsement of the incumbent governor, as well as their more recent meeting with traditional rulers from Kwara North, as examples of repeated political bias.

“If these actions were truly guided by the principles of justice and equity, our traditional rulers would demonstrate fairness in all their engagements,” he said. “Instead, what we’ve seen is an unmistakable pattern of alignment with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which undermines their credibility as neutral cultural leaders.” The KSYC warned that the pursuit of political influence should never come at the expense of community welfare, stressing that monarchs must maintain their role as unifying forces rather than partisan actors.