The Kwara Inclusion Advocates (KIA) has warned that the continued structural exclusion of Christians from the governorship equation in Kwara State must be addressed ahead of the 2027 election.

It said competence and inclusiveness, not identity politics, should shape leadership choices. Speaking at a press conference in Ilorin at the weekend, the group’s Convener, Tunji Adeyemi, said the intervention was not driven by religious agitation but by the urgent need to stabilise Kwara politically and socially as succession debates intensify.

Adeyemi said: “As 2027 approaches, Kwara is under pressure from insecurity, declining public confidence and growing anxiety among citizens. These challenges will not be resolved by sentiment, rigid zoning or silent exclusions, but by deliberate inclusion anchored on competence.”

He stressed that leadership in Kwara should not be treated as an entitlement or a “turn-by-turn souvenir,” arguing that competence in a plural society must be both real and visible across religious and regional lines. According to him, the au- tomatic disqualification of Christians from governorship consideration amounts to structural exclusion that weakens unity in a diverse state.

While acknowledging calls for the governorship to rotate to Kwara North, Adeyemi maintained that zoning should not become a tool for shutting out qualified candidates on the basis of faith.

Adeyemi recalled the election of the late Governor Cornelius Adebayo in 1983 and the leadership legacy of the late former military Governor George Innih, noting that Kwarans have previously embraced leadership beyond identity when merit and credibility were evident.