Since the Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary that hitherto produced the incumbent Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, was concluded, events that have trailed the results showed that there are still many rivers to cross to get to desired destination. Opposition and counter-opposition have been the game, trumping up a jigsaw in Kwara governorship race for 2027 general elections. Biola Azeez reports:
ON Friday, May 22, 2026, the Musiliu Obanikoro-led team from the national leadership of the APC conducted governorship primary election among 16 contenders in Kwara State where the incumbent Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, emerged governorship candidate of the party in the exercise held in the 193 wards of the state.
Announcing results of the exercise, Obanikoro, who was the returning officer, said that Danladi, popularly known as SYD, polled 94,990 votes to beat his closest challenger, Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki, who got 41,700 votes and Dr. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa, who polled 22,118.
Key contenders, including Amb. Yahaya Seriki, had earlier mobilised support for SYD in a show of solidarity for the man who, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had endorsed as the candidate of the ruling party.
Results from the exercise according to Obanikoro-led team showed that other candidates like Engineer Femi Sanni got 5,519; Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe 3,920; Belgore 3,411; Mohammed Bio 1,122; Dr. Alabi Oluwatoyin, 1,099; Ambassador Seriki 41,700; Bolarinwa 22,118; Professor Wale Suleiman, 2,434; and Professor Abubakar Suleiman, 1,722.
Just after the party primaries, political watchers in the state were of the conviction that the emergence of a governorship candidate from the Kwara North district had been signed and sealed for the 2027 general elections. This conviction was largely based on alleged marginalisation of the Kwara North district in the state governorship position for about three decades.
However, more than a month after the conclusion of the party primary and the results of the election taken to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in Abuja, the results have yet to get official stamp.
Opposition to the choice of Danladi rose few days after the party primary as some members of the Elders Caucus of the party in the state as well as ten of the governorship aspirants that participated in the exercise, met with the national leaders of the party in Abuja where they disagreed with the outcome.
The stakeholders raised the alarm over alleged plot to coerce traditional rulers in the state to back Danladi-Salihu as the party’s governorship candidate. The governorship aspirants and elders, who said that they uncovered plot to foist Danladi-Salihu on APC, added that people behind the plot planned to mobilise traditional rulers for a visit to President Bola Tinubu to thank him for accepting and endorsing the Speaker as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general elections.
They also dismissed insinuations that the governorship aspirants have resolved to back the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, as their preferred candidate, saying the NOA DG never obtained nomination form.
The chairman of the Kwara APC Elders Caucus, Chief James Bamisaye Ayeni, who led the delegation to the meeting, said that there was no governorship primary election held in the state that produced the Speaker, adding that the party had at no time picked him as its consensus candidate.
He said: “To the best of our knowledge, the party has not published the endorsement of any candidate in Kwara State. We would, therefore, like to caution the planners and masterminds of this desperate attempt not to drag our highly respected royal fathers into an intra party matter and affair. It is a settled fact that traditional rulers are fathers of all, irrespective of political inclination and they are insulated from partisan political calculations.
“Never in the history of our dear state have our royal fathers been dragged into affairs of any political party in particular or participated in politics in general. Therefore, dragging our royal fathers into the internal affairs of the APC is a sign of desperation, which is akin to decorating a Trojan horse. It would be an unprecedented abuse of privileged positions by the planners and schemers of this mindless and inappropriate visit to Mr. President.
“We have it on record that despite the contentious circumstances that characterised the nomination of APC gubernatorial candidate in 2018, our traditional rulers were neither involved, nor have they ever been involved in the process of nomination and emergence of any party’s candidate.
“We are further aware that there has not been any record whatsoever from 2019, when the present administration came on board, up till date which indicated that our royal fathers and/or state elders, leaders and the critical stakeholders in Kwara State were ever mobilised to pay a visit to thank Mr. President for the honour done to prominent sons and daughters of Kwara State, who were appointed into key federal ministries, agencies and parastatals in the past.”
However, barely few hours after a set of APC elders’ caucus made their stand known, another group of elders of the ruling party announced support for the choice of the governorship candidate.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the APC elders, through their spokesperson, Abdullateef Gidado Alakawa, assured President Tinubu and the national leadership of the APC that Danladi-Salihu enjoyed the popular support of the people of the state, especially the youth population.
Alakawa added: “To say the least, those who addressed that conference are interlopers who are not recognised by the APC structure in the state.
“The general public is aware of the fact that our party held its primaries for all the elective offices, including the governorship ticket in a peaceful atmosphere. The results of the governorship primary were announced by the chairman of the panel that was sent from Abuja to conduct the exercise, Hon. Musiliu Obanikoro, in the presence of all loyal party members at the Banquet Hall along Ahmadu Bello Way, Ilorin.
“The governorship primary that was held on May 22, 2026 produced the incumbent speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi Salihu, as winner. Since that time, none of the other gubernatorial aspirants has raised a complaint on the outcome of the exercise. And as a team player, the APC gubernatorial candidate has since extended the hands of fellowship to his co-contestants.
“Not only this, Hon. Danladi has embarked on a tour of the residences of key stakeholders in the affairs of our dear state, including our traditional rulers, who have all blessed him, assured him of their support and prayed for his victory at the poll come 2027.
“The credentials of Danladi-Salihu are in public domain. Apart from being an engineer, he has garnered enough political experience as the state’s number three citizen in the last seven years. Our candidate is also a youth who enjoys the support of mammoth youth population.
“On the so-called elders’ disparaging comments on our leader, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, we want to clarify that the governor did not impose any gubernatorial candidates on the party. The governor allowed a free contest in the gubernatorial primary while he was not also directly in charge of the conduct of the exercise. He, as a democrat, only accepted the outcome of the exercise which was adjudged peaceful, free and fair by those that supervised it,” he said.
Meanwhile, a new twist was introduced to the controversies when Christian stakeholders under the aegis of the Conglomerate of Kwara State Christian Communities appealed to President Tinubu to consider a Christian candidate for the ticket.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, convener of the group, Rev. Felix Ajide, explained that its position was based on the principles of fairness, inclusion and equity in the state’s political arrangement.
The Christian body said that its demand was not a call for religious politics, but a request for a balance that would accommodate all sections of the state while prioritising competence and capacity. According to the group, political future of Kwara State should be shaped by emergence of leaders with the ability, experience and broad acceptability to drive development.
“Our appeal is not about religion replacing competence. Rather, it is about ensuring that competence is given the opportunity to thrive within an inclusive political framework,” the group said.
The Christian community, which cited findings from the Africa Polling Institute (API), said the report showed a willingness among Kwarans to support candidates based on competence rather than religious identity.
The group said the survey indicated that 90 per cent of Muslim respondents were willing to support a competent Christian candidate, while 98 per cent of Christian respondents were willing to support a competent Muslim candidate. It added that 93 per cent of respondents expressed willingness to support a good candidate irrespective of religious background.
The community argued that the findings reflected Kwara’s tradition of religious tolerance and demonstrated that voters were more interested in leadership qualities than faith considerations.
The group also noted that the APC has Christian politicians within its ranks with the experience and capacity to govern the state, mentioning Engineer Femi Sanni, popularly known as Araba, and Dr. Toyin Alabi among possible candidates with the qualities required for the governorship position.
It said the inclusion of a Christian candidate in the APC’s consideration would promote a sense of belonging among different segments of the state and strengthen unity.
They said the group remained committed to peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims and would support any process that produces competent and people-centred leadership.
