Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has thrown his weight behind Yahaya Seriki of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as his preferred successor ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
AbdulRazaq, in a Facebook post on Tuesday seen by THE WHISTLER, said the decision followed extensive consultations with party stakeholders and leadership structures across the state.
The development may further deepen political tensions within the ruling party in the state.
The governor’s endorsement came barely 24 hours after confusion trailed the APC senatorial primary election in Kwara Central.
Senator Saliu Mustapha was reported to be planning to contest against the governor for the Senate ticket if he’s not the APC’s consensus governorship candidate.
“Following extensive consultations with party structures and leadership, I am pleased to endorse Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki as my preferred successor under the platform of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC),” the statement read.
He further described Seriki as a youthful and people-oriented politician with strong political mobilisation capacity and widespread grassroots acceptance across the state.
“Young, pro-people, astute, and broad-minded, Amb. Yahaya Seriki has been a great political mobiliser with profound investments in and extensive goodwill among the people of Kwara State. I have no doubt about his capacity and that his choice is appropriate for the people of our state at this time,” the governor stated.
Abdulrazaq also explained that his endorsement does not invalidate the aspirations of other governorship seeking the APC ticket ahead of the party’s primary election slated for Thursday, May 21, 2026.
“While this does not in any way preclude all other aspirants from contesting in the primaries, I urge members and leaders to affirm the choice of Seriki as our candidate for cohesion, unity, and continuous success of the party as we hold our gubernatorial primaries on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
“The choice of Amb. Yahaya Seriki is neither a disapproval of any of our eminently qualified aspirants nor a whimsical attempt to delegitimise the noble aspirations of our people. But in a race involving some 16 great minds for one office, only one person can take the shot at a time.
“Finally, I acknowledge and commend the statesmanship of our aspirants, all of whom have shown discipline and impressive capacity to build on the undeniable achievements of our administration over the last seven years for the good of the people of Kwara State,” the governor said
