Kwara 2027: APC Elects Speaker Danladi as Governorship Candidate

Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2027 election in Kwara State following the party’s primary election held across the state.

Danladi, popularly known as SYD, secured a decisive victory after polling 94,990 votes to defeat several other aspirants in the contest. The result was announced in Ilorin by the chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Committee, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

His closest challenger, businessman and politician Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki-Gambari, reportedly scored over 41,000 votes, while former APC chairman Bashir Bolarinwa polled more than 22,000 votes.

The primary election came amid intense political maneuvering within the Kwara APC, with reports of last-minute alliances and shifts in support among key stakeholders in the party. Earlier reports indicated that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq allegedly switched his backing from Yahaya Seriki to Danladi ahead of the rescheduled primary.

Party officials, however, described the exercise as peaceful and transparent, insisting that all aspirants were given a fair opportunity to contest. Speaking after the announcement, Obanikoro urged party members to remain united ahead of the 2027 governorship election, stressing that “there is no loser in APC.”

Danladi, who has served as Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly since 2019, is expected to lead the ruling party into what observers believe could become one of the most closely watched governorship races in the North Central region.