Kwara Speaker Salihu Danladi Wins APC Governorship Ticket

Salihu Yakubu Danladi, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, has won the APC governorship ticket for Kwara State ahead of the 2027 general election.

His victory makes him the ruling party’s flagbearer in a state where Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is serving his final term and where the succession contest has been closely watched within the APC.

Danladi Wins After Rescheduled Primary

Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, chairman of the APC primary election committee in Kwara, announced the result in Ilorin after the conclusion of voting across the state.

Danladi polled 94,990 votes to defeat other aspirants in the contest. Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki came second with 41,700 votes, while Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa scored 22,118 votes.

Other reported figures included Femi Sanni with 5,519 votes, Yahaya Oloriegbe with 3,920, Dele Belgore with 3,411, Wale Suleiman with 2,434 and Abubakar Suleiman with 1,722.

The primary had earlier been rescheduled, adding to the suspense around the race. Obanikoro said party members still came out in large numbers despite the delay and described the exercise as peaceful.

APC Looks To Manage The Aftermath

Obanikoro also appealed for unity after the contest, saying the aspirants belonged to the same political family. That appeal is expected in a primary with several high-profile contenders and wide vote margins between the leading aspirants.

Kwara APC leaders will now have to manage the post-primary mood and keep the party together ahead of the general election. In many states, the real challenge after a competitive primary is not the vote itself, but whether aggrieved aspirants and their supporters stay within the party structure.

Danladi’s emergence also reflects the influence of the current power arrangement in Kwara politics. As speaker of the state assembly, he is already one of the most visible APC office holders in the state.

Race To Succeed AbdulRazaq

Governor AbdulRazaq cannot seek another term in 2027, which makes the APC ticket especially valuable. The party currently controls the state government, but succession battles can quickly test party discipline.

For Danladi, the next phase will involve building a broader coalition beyond the primary delegates and ward-level party structures. He will also need to sell himself to voters outside the APC base.

The opposition will likely frame the election as a referendum on the outgoing administration, while the APC will try to defend its record and present Danladi as a continuity candidate with legislative and political experience.

With the primary concluded, Kwara now joins the list of states where the APC has settled its governorship flagbearer ahead of the 2027 race.

Sources: Nigerian Tribune, TheCable, Vanguard