The African Democratic Congress in Kwara State on Tuesday commenced a sensitisation and membership drive in Ilorin ahead of the 2027 general elections, as a governorship aspirant on the party’s platform, Abdulmumin Ajia, unveiled his political agenda for the state. The mobilisation exercise, led by Ajia, was conducted across major locations in the Ilorin metropolis and aimed at attracting new members and presenting what the party described as a credible alternative for voters in the state. Addressing party supporters during the exercise, Ajia said the membership drive formed part of efforts to reposition the ADC for a strong showing in the next general elections. He explained that his political vision centres on rebuilding governance systems in Kwara rather than personality-driven politics. “Our government shall move beyond merely publishing budgets toward ensuring that citizens have accessible platforms to track projects, contracts and outcomes,” he said. Ajia, a professor of Business Administration at Lincoln University in the United States, also formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election on the ADC platform. The academic, who previously sought the All Progressives Congress governorship ticket in 2019, titled his declaration address “Systems First: A New Direction for Kwara.” According to him, the fundamental challenge confronting governance in Nigeria is the failure of systems, not the failure of citizens. “People do not fail first. Systems fail first. When systems work, people rise. When systems collapse, people adapt just to survive,” Ajia said. The governorship aspirant outlined a four-pillar governance framework that he said would guide his political agenda. The pillars include opportunity creation, institutional systems building, job and enterprise development, and improved public service delivery in sectors such as healthcare and education. He said the proposed framework would focus on strengthening institutions capable of producing consistent governance outcomes rather than symbolic projects. Ajia also promised to introduce digital governance that would enable citizens to access government services and information online. “Our political work will focus on building systems that produce predictable results and reduce the friction that discourages small businesses and innovation,” he said. Ajia also referenced governance data to support his call for institutional reforms. He cited fiscal transparency assessments by BudgIT, which ranked Kwara 12th nationally in the State Fiscal Transparency League for the first quarter of 2025. While acknowledging progress reflected in the ranking, he said more work was needed to ensure that government budget data becomes easily accessible and useful to citizens. He also highlighted regulatory reforms documented by the World Bank, showing improvements in business registration and construction permit processes in Ilorin. According to him, such reforms demonstrate how improvements in governance processes can directly impact businesses and economic growth. Ajia used the occasion to call for a broad political coalition aimed at redefining politics in Kwara. He invited professionals, youth leaders, women groups, diaspora Kwarans, traditional institutions and civil society organisations to join efforts to build what he described as a governance culture based on institutional design and accountability. “If we want a different Kwara, we must build politics differently,” he said. The governorship hopeful acknowledged widespread public distrust in Nigerian politics, urging citizens to evaluate political actors based on the seriousness of their policy frameworks rather than campaign rhetoric. “Judge us by the seriousness of the framework we are proposing and the quality of the team that emerges around it,” Ajia said.