The Labour Party in Kwara State announced on Tuesday the suspension of its governorship candidate, Comrade Basambo Abubakar, for alleged anti‑party activities and the spread of misleading information. State Chairman Chief Kehinde Rotimi made the announcement at a press conference in Ilorin, stating that the suspension would remain in effect until further notice.
Basambo had caused controversy on Monday when he told journalists in Ilorin that the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara would “collapse their structures” and work together as a team for the upcoming governorship and state assembly elections. He explained that the Labour Party would merge its structure with the PDP in areas where the latter was strong, while the PDP would do the same where the Labour Party had a solid grassroots presence. He added that this alignment was intended to create a “collective dream for a prosperous Kwara State” and that the Labour Party had decided to “align political forces with the PDP” for Saturday’s governorship election.
Party leaders, including Chairman Rotimi, rejected Basambo’s statements, emphasizing that the Labour Party had not aligned with any governorship candidate or political party for the election. Rotimi said the suspended candidate acted against the party’s principles and had no authority to announce any such alignment. He urged the public to disregard Basambo’s remarks and affirmed that all Labour Party House of Assembly candidates remained in the race, calling on voters to turn out in large numbers on Saturday.
“We are a political party with an ideology based on social justice and equality,” Rotimi declared. “We have not adopted the PDP governorship candidate, Shuaib Yaman Abdulahi, as Basambo claimed. He has no authority to speak for the party.” He noted that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was currently challenging the national election results in court, and it would be morally wrong to support another party’s candidate against the wishes of their presidential contender.
Rotimi further clarified that the Labour Party’s presidential candidate never mandated cooperation with the PDP or any other party, and anyone acting otherwise does so at their own risk. He called on the public to ignore the misleading information, reaffirming that the Labour Party remains committed to its “Nigeria project” and that all its candidates are contesting the Saturday elections. While acknowledging Basambo’s right to freedom of association, Rotimi stressed the party’s resolve to uphold its ideology and its refusal to adopt or align with any other political party in the state.
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