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Ilorin, Kwara State – By Prime Brief Media

The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, has clinched the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress for the 2027 elections, amassing a landslide 94,990 votes to defeat 14 other aspirants, including an incumbent senator. The primary, held across the 16 local government areas of the state, was concluded on Friday following a dramatic 24-hour suspension.

Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Committee and former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, announced the result at the Banquet Hall in Ilorin, describing the process as peaceful and successful. "There is no loser in any contest in APC. We are all winners," Obanikoro said shortly before reading the final scores. He then formally pronounced Danladi as the winner, having satisfied all the requirements stipulated by the party's electoral guidelines.

The governorship primary was preceded by days of intense political manoeuvring and succession calculations over who would succeed Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who is serving his second and constitutionally final term in office. Tensions escalated significantly after reports emerged that the governor had thrown his weight behind Ambassador Yahaya Seriki as his preferred successor, a move that triggered fierce opposition from several aspirants and influential political blocs within the Kwara APC.

The crisis came to a head on Thursday when the party abruptly suspended the primary midway into the process, citing what officials described as "logistical concerns and the need for further consultations among stakeholders." The suspension heightened anxiety among aspirants and their supporters, with some alleging that the move was designed to manipulate the outcome. However, Obanikoro, upon his arrival in Ilorin, moved swiftly to restore confidence, meeting with all aspirants at the APC state secretariat and assuring them of a transparent, free, and credible process conducted in line with the directives of the party's national leadership.

The contest also reignited the long-running debate over zoning and power rotation within Kwara State. Groups from Kwara South Senatorial District intensified calls for the governorship seat to shift away from Kwara Central where both Danladi and Governor AbdulRazaq hail from in the interest of equity and inclusion. Despite these agitations, Danladi's overwhelming victory suggests that the party's delegate structure and the prevailing political consensus favoured continuity within the Central zone.

Danladi, a seasoned legislator who has presided over the Kwara State House of Assembly, is widely regarded as a loyalist of Governor AbdulRazaq and a key architect of the administration's legislative agenda. His emergence as the party's flagbearer effectively positions him as the man to beat in the 2027 governorship election, barring any post-primary litigation from aggrieved aspirants.

Supporters of Danladi erupted in jubilation across Ilorin shortly after the result was announced, with party leaders moving quickly to rally members behind the Speaker ahead of what is expected to be a competitive general election. Governor AbdulRazaq, in a brief statement, congratulated Danladi and urged all aspirants to unite behind the party's candidate to ensure a decisive APC victory in 2027.

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