*** Says Alliance Will Mobilise Polling Unit by Polling Unit
*** “Let’s vote, not fight” — KATS Coordinator urges peaceful 2027 election
By Abdulrahman Aliagan
The Coordinator of the Kwara Alliance for Tinubu Shettima (KATS), Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Ajia, PhD, has set a target of 1.5 million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Kwara State in the 2027 presidential election, declaring that the Alliance will mobilise voters across the state’s grassroots to achieve the target.
Ajia disclosed this in an exclusive interview following his engagement with critical stakeholders and representatives of the seven local government areas in Kwara South at Ajase-Ipo, where he said the Alliance had commenced the process of building a statewide grassroots mobilisation structure for the re-election of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
According to him, the initiative was conceived by APC stakeholders who believe that the party’s structures and existing political machinery must be complemented by additional grassroots mobilisation efforts to ensure that registered voters actually turn out on election day.
Ajia said the KATS initiative followed an earlier engagement with critical stakeholders in Kwara Central, where stakeholders agreed on the need to establish an alliance dedicated to mobilising votes for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket.
“As members of the APC and stakeholders in Kwara, we formed the opinion that we need to mobilise votes across the grassroots for Mr President. That was why we put ourselves together.
“A few months ago, we had the Kwara Central critical stakeholders who came together and agreed that we should form an alliance. Today, we are in Ajase-Ipo, where we met representatives of all the local governments in the South, and we agreed on the same thing — that we should form an alliance to canvass votes for Asiwaju in 2027.”
Statewide Launch Coming
Ajia said the Alliance would extend its consultations to other parts of the state, with engagements planned for Kwara North before returning to Ilorin for the formal statewide launch of the Kwara Alliance for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s re-election.
He explained that the Alliance would work with existing APC structures while also addressing what he described as a critical gap in previous elections — the failure of many registered voters to turn out on election day.
“We recognise the party structure and we will work with them,” Ajia said. “But we are saying there are vacancies that we need to fill. Why are people not voting on election day? Why will you register and not turn up on election day?”
‘We Will Go Polling Unit by Polling Unit’
The KATS Coordinator said the Alliance would establish a detailed grassroots mobilisation mechanism covering polling units across Kwara State.
He said the strategy would involve identifying the number of registered voters in each polling unit, determining why some voters fail to participate in elections and developing targeted strategies to encourage greater voter turnout.
“We are setting up our machinery to find out why people don’t come out to vote on election day. We will put our officials across polling units and start activities that will make sure that the turnout on election day is massive.
“We will go polling unit by polling unit. We will identify the number of registered voters and find out the reasons that make people not turn up. We will encourage people and show them the achievements of Mr President.”
Ajia said the mobilisation would involve critical stakeholders, youths, women and communities across the state, describing the initiative as a broad grassroots movement rather than a campaign limited to political elites.
Ajia Highlights Tinubu’s Achievements
Making a case for President Tinubu’s second term, Ajia pointed to what he described as positive developments arising from the administration’s economic policies and reforms.
He specifically referenced the removal of the petrol subsidy and its effects on state finances and workers’ salaries, as well as the Federal Government’s support for education.
According to him, the Alliance would take the achievements and impact of the administration’s policies directly to voters as part of its grassroots mobilisation.
“Just while we were in Ajase, somebody was telling us how all the children in his community are now in university without suffering to pay their school fees. So these are good foundations.
“Subsidy is gone, and we are seeing the dividend of subsidy, whether we like it or not. States that were paying half salaries are now paying full salaries. All these are dividends of the removal of subsidy.”
He said KATS would therefore engage voters who were indifferent to politics and encourage them to participate actively in the 2027 election.
Targeting 1.5 Million Votes
Ajia acknowledged that Kwara had a significant number of registered voters but expressed concern about the relatively low turnout recorded in previous elections.
He said available records from the last election showed that about 1.6 million people were registered as voters in Kwara, but fewer than 400,000 reportedly turned out to vote.
With the conclusion of the latest Continuous Voter Registration exercise, he said the Alliance was awaiting the final voter register from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and expected the number of registered voters in the state to approach two million.
Ajia said the Alliance’s objective was to convert the state’s voter population into actual electoral participation.
“With this alliance and movement, we are now ready to deliver at least 1.5 million votes for Mr President in the 2027 election.
“We know that Kwara is an APC state, but we are working with records and documents. We are not just making assumptions. We want to know why people don’t come out to vote, and we are going to address those issues before election day.”
He cited the recent electoral turnout in Osun State as an indication of what could be achieved through effective mobilisation, arguing that Kwara could also record significantly higher voter participation.
‘Let’s Vote, Not Fight’
Beyond the mobilisation of votes, Ajia made a strong appeal for peaceful political participation, warning supporters and opposition parties against violence as the 2027 elections approach.
He said political contests should be viewed as competition rather than warfare, stressing that no political victory was worth the loss of lives or destruction of communities.
“Election is not war; it is a game. Just play your card, show what you can do and what you have done, and allow the electorate to determine who they want to vote for.
“There is no need for violence in politics. If you bring violence into politics and people are injured or killed, who do you want to come and rule over?”
Ajia appealed particularly to opposition parties and their supporters to conduct their campaigns peacefully, saying Kwara had a reputation for peace and harmony that must be protected.
He recalled that tensions during the last election had prompted stakeholders to establish a peace and mediation mechanism aimed at preventing political violence across the state.
According to him, the same spirit of dialogue should guide preparations for 2027.
“We will continue to encourage the opposition parties to conduct themselves in a very peaceful manner so that we can have a peaceful state. Kwara is known for peace and harmony.
“Today, I am in APC and I am working for APC, but we will talk to every other political party that we can do this with ease and peace. There is no need for violence. Let’s vote and not fight.”
A New Phase of Grassroots Politics
With stakeholder consultations already held in Kwara Central and Kwara South, and further engagements expected in Kwara North before the proposed statewide launch in Ilorin, Ajia said KATS was determined to begin its mobilisation well ahead of the election.
He said the Alliance would deploy its network of elders, youths, women and community stakeholders to reach voters across the state, while maintaining cooperation with the formal APC structure.
For Ajia and the KATS movement, the immediate challenge is no longer simply convincing voters to support President Tinubu, but ensuring that those who are registered actually make it to the polling units on election day.
And with a stated ambition of 1.5 million votes, the Alliance has set for itself a formidable grassroots mobilisation task — one that will test the strength of its emerging political machinery as Kwara moves steadily towards the 2027 presidential election.
