Return to your natural habitat, Lai tells loyalists who defected to SDP

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, has reacted to the defection of some of his loyalists to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

At the weekend, over 100 aggrieved supporters of the minister in Kwara state defected to the SDP.

A rift between Mohammed and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Kwara governor, had divided the state’s chapter of APC into two factions.

The crisis reached a crescendo in 2021 when the two factions held parallel congresses in the state.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mohammed said leaving the party is not the solution to the problems confronting the APC.

The minister said their grievances have been taken to the highest level of the party and everything would be done to address their concerns.

“I wish to state categorically that despite the fact that the supporters are genuinely aggrieved at the way and manner they have been treated by the Kwara State Governor and his supporters, against the backdrop of their immeasurable contributions to the massive victory of our party in the state in 2019, leaving the party is not the solution,” he said.

“We have taken the grievances of our supporters to the highest level of our party, and we have cause to believe that everything will be done to address the grievances and unite the party ahead of the 2023 elections.

“I am therefore appealing to those who may have left to reconsider their stand and return to their natural habitat.

“On my part, as a founding member of the APC, as someone who has toiled endlessly to build the party and as one who has worked with stakeholders to deliver Kwara State to the APC, leaving the party is not an option. I am a bonafide member of the APC and I have no intention of leaving the party.

“All through my political career, I have always remained loyal to any party in which I have found myself. That is not about to change now.

“I want to use this opportunity to once again call on the leadership of our party to urgently and decisively address the issues that have forced some members of our party in Kwara to contemplate leaving the party.”