Kwara Speaker Danladi Floors Rivals to Clinch APC Governorship Ticket

Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Saliu Danladi, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State after defeating 14 other aspirants in the party’s primary election.

Danladi secured a landslide victory in the exercise held across the state on Friday, polling more than 94,000 votes to top the contest.

His closest challenger, Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahya-Seriki, garnered 41,700 votes, while former state APC Chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa, finished third with 22,118 votes.

Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Supervisory Committee, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, announced the results at the end of the exercise.

Only Danladi, Professor Wale Sulaiman and Captain Mahmud were present at the venue when the final results were declared, while Yahya-Seriki and 11 other aspirants were absent.

The outcome came amid shifting political calculations within the ruling party. Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had publicly endorsed Yahya-Seriki for the governorship ticket earlier in the week before the primary election was postponed to Friday.

However, developments between Thursday night and Friday morning reportedly altered the political landscape, with support swinging in favour of the Speaker, who eventually emerged victorious.

The keenly contested primary is seen as a major political milestone ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Kwara State, with Danladi now positioned to lead the APC into the main poll.