A coterie of Kwara All Progressives Congress (APC) elders and stakeholders have thrown their weight behind the candidature of Speaker Salihu Yakubu Danladi (SYD) whom they said convincingly won the governorship primaries and remains the most popular aspirant on account of his youthfulness, grassroots support and capacity.
Addressing a press briefing on Monday afternoon in Ilorin, the elders also rejected an earlier claim by some elements whose preferred aspirants were defeated at the primaries which was conducted by Senator Musiliu Obanikoro on the directive of the national headquarters of the party.
Drawn from across the three senatorial districts, the elders included the Chairman of the Lower River Niger Basin Development Authority, Mallam Lateef Gidado Alakawa; Ambassador Nurudeen Mohammed;
Hon. Hassan Oyeleke; Alhaji Mustapha Kobe; Malam Abdulrazaq Lawal; Hon. Adamu Sabi; Mr Kayode Towoju; Malam Sadu Salahudeen; Dr. Wasiu Tejidini; Mr. Bamidele Aluko; Majority Leader, House of Assembly and all other members; all the 16 APC local government party chairmen; all the 16 council chairmen; and a large number of elders and stakeholders across the three senatorial districts.
A text read by Alakawa, a chieftain of the party from Kwara Central, said: “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 was announced by the chairman of the panel that was sent from Abuja to conductor 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 22nd May 2026 produced the incumbent speaker of the state House of Assembly, 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 youths 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 declaring the result of the gubernatorial primary, the chairman of the APC Supervisory Committee of Kwara State governorship primary, Obanikoro, said Danladi Salihu scored 94,990 votes to beat other eight aspirants that participated in the exercise.
According to Alakawa, from central to north and south, party leaders, stakeholders and members turned up heavily to affirm the choice of Danladi Salihu who polled more than 65% of the total ballots.
He recalled that key contenders, including Ambassador Yahaya Seriki, had earlier mobilised support for Danladi Salihu in a show of solidarity, adding that all the five local government areas in the north of the state returned more than 90% of their votes in favour of Danladi.
Alakawa said the speaker also led comfortably across the two other senatorial districts, adding that in Southern District — Offa, Oyun, Irepodun, Ekiti, Isin, Oke Ero and Ifelodun — stood firmly behind the choice of the speaker, underscoring his strong support base across the state.
He stated that results of the other candidates are Femi Sani – 5,519; Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe – 3,920; Belgore – 3,411; Mohamed Bio – 1122; Dr. Alabi Oluwatoyin – 1099; Seriki – 41,700; Bolarinwa – 22,118; Prof. Wale Suleiman – 2434; and Prof. Abubakar Suleiman – 1722.
“The above illustration showed that Danladi- Salihu won the gubernatorial primary convincingly. What we expected of the so- called elders is to join hands with our governor and other stakeholders to ensure the victory of our governorship candidate and all other candidates of the APC at the poll.
“The conduct of these elders have shown that they are not patriotic members of the APC and do not mean well for our dear Kwara State. We hold the opinion that every well- meaning party man will pray for a successor who will continue the good work of the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
“Though we understand their plight, we expected them to accept the outcome of the gubernatorial primary in good faith and join hands with our God- sent governor to deliver the state to APC during the 2027 general election. We are lucky to have a listening and responsive governor, who has always ensured that everyone is carried along in the running of the party and the state.
“We want to assure His Excellency, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu that Kwara is APC state and In Shaa Allahu, the governor and all other genuine stakeholders will deliver the state once again to the APC come 2027,” he said.
