The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Saliu Danladi, has emerged winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Kwara State.…....
Danladi secured victory after polling over 94,000 votes to defeat 14 other aspirants in the keenly contested primary election held across the state on Friday.
His closest rival, Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahya-Seriki, garnered 41,700 votes, while former Kwara APC Chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa, came a distant third with 22,118 votes.
The results were announced by Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, chairman of the APC governorship primary election supervisory committee.
Only three aspirants — Speaker Saliu Danladi, Professor Wale Sulaiman and Captain Mahmud — were present at the venue during the official declaration of the results.
The outcome of the primary comes amid intense political maneuvering within the ruling party in the state.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had publicly declared support for Ambassador Yahya-Seriki two days before the exercise, a move widely interpreted as an endorsement of his candidacy.
However, the primary election, initially scheduled for Thursday, was postponed to Friday following internal consultations and growing tension among party stakeholders.
Between Thursday night and Friday morning, political calculations reportedly shifted dramatically within the APC camp, with support swinging in favour of the Speaker.
The sudden change in momentum eventually culminated in Danladi’s emergence as winner of the primary election.
However, Yahya-Seriki and 11 other aspirants were absent during the announcement of the final results, further fueling speculations of dissatisfaction among some contenders over the conduct and outcome of the exercise.
