By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

The Accord Party in Kwara State has predicted that the Rainbow Coalition will fail to make the expected electoral impact in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that the alliance is driven more by elite political realignments than grassroots support.

The party’s state publicity secretary, Olamilekan Esinrogunjo, stated this in a statement on the emerging political alignment made available to Vanguard on Sunday.

He described the coalition as flawed, alleging that it lacked a clear governance agenda and was driven largely by personality clashes.

Esinrogunjo also described the Rainbow Coalition as a credibility challenge because of what he called contradictions in its political positioning.

He questioned the decision to oppose the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara while supporting President Bola Tinubu at the federal level, saying the arrangement could confuse voters and serve the interests of political elites rather than ordinary citizens.

“ You cannot claim to be opposition in Kwara and, at the same time, ask the same people to support the APC at the presidential level. That contradiction is one of the fundamental problems of the Rainbow Coalition,” he said.

The Accord Party spokesman also dismissed the suggestion that the movement of prominent politicians across party lines would automatically translate into electoral support.

“They can make noise here and there. Politicians can move from one party to another, but votes do not move automatically with them. An alliance of politicians is not necessarily an alliance of voters,” he said.

He further argued that the coalition’s reliance on political heavyweights and former officeholders to revive support for the Saraki political dynasty amounted to more political noise than electoral substance.

According to him, the coalition had yet to establish a clear message capable of attracting ordinary voters across the state.

“What is the Rainbow Coalition offering Kwarans beyond political realignment? Is it an opposition platform, a vehicle for supporting the President, a return to the defeated dynasty or simply an arrangement among politicians seeking new political opportunities?” he queried.

Esinrogunjo said the 2027 elections would not be determined solely by defections, endorsements or alliances among political elites, but by the ability of parties to connect with voters and present credible programmes.

He maintained that the Accord Party was offering an alternative across all levels of the elections, from the presidency to the state House of Assembly.

“Kwara is not anybody’s political inheritance. The people own their votes, and they will decide who gets their mandate,” he said.

The party spokesman insisted that Accord would continue to present itself as an opposition platform focused on policy, grassroots engagement and what he described as a “new direction” for the state.

He urged voters to look beyond politicians’ movement between parties and assess political platforms based on their programmes, candidates, records and capacity to address the challenges facing the state.