Kwara governor names ‘political rival’ coordinator for Hajj 2027

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has appointed Mashood Mustapha, as the leader of the state’s contingent to the 2027 pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The appointment is contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Government House, Mashood Agboola.

As Ameerul Hajj, Mr Mustapha will coordinate the state’s 2027 Hajj exercise along with other officials at various levels of government.

Popularly known as MM, Mr Mustapha was a member of the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015 and holds the traditional title of Wakili of Ilorin Emirate.

The appointment is coming less than 24 hours after Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Ilorin during the turbaning ceremony of the governor as the Sarduana of Ilorin by the emir, Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, where Mr Shettima appealed to political leaders in the state not to play politics with bitterness, urging them to bury their differences.

Governor AbdulRazaq and Mr Mustapha have had a frosty relationship that led to the latters defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At the heart of their dispute was the cancellation of a concession that Mr Mustapha’s company held over the state-owned Kwara Hotel in Ilorin.

The state government has since spent multiple billions of naira on the renovation of the facility.

After leaving the APC, Mr Mustapha took the Kwara Central District’s senatorial ticket of the PDP and was to have Mr AbdulRazaq, who is the APC candidate, as a direct rival in next year’s election.

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However, following a reallignment between a group of disaffected APC members and former governor Bukola Saraki’s faction of the PDP, Mr Mustapha dropped the ticket for Salihu Mustapha, the sitting senator.

The senator had run unsuccessfully for the APC governorship ticket.

It was not immediately clear whether the appointment signals a mending of fence between the governor and Mr Mustapha.