The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has postponed the Kwara State governorship primary, originally scheduled for Thursday, to Friday. The state party chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, confirmed to newsmen that his office was informed of the cancellation order from the national leadership. According to him: “We do not have details for the cancellation other than the fact that the team from the national office came and instructed that the election holds tomorrow.”
Eight Aspirants Step Down for Seriki
Just hours before the postponed primary was set to begin, eight aspirants stepped down for Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s preferred successor. Ambassador Seriki reportedly held strategic engagements with fellow aspirants and key stakeholders on Wednesday, during which many unanimously conceded to his candidature “in the interest of unity and continuity of Governor AbdulRazaq’s achievements.”
Those who pledged support for Seriki include: Dr. Salako Oluwatoyin, Captain Ahmad Mahmoud, Professor Wale Sulaiman, Dr. Mohammed Bio, Dr. Toyin Alabi, Hajia Aisha Patigi, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Yakubu Salihu Danladi. The meeting ended with a renewed commitment to party cohesion, issue-based engagement, and a peaceful primary process capable of further strengthening the APC in Kwara State. Indications suggest that more aspirants may step down ahead of the primary election.
Primary Process and Voter Turnout
At the primary proper, party members, including physically challenged individuals, turned out in Kwara Central Senatorial District to participate as early as 8 a.m. for the exercise that eventually started at 12 noon across the state. At Gambari Ward II, Karumo in Ilorin East, Abubakar Gobir, a visually impaired member born in Sokoto State, told newsmen that he and his colleagues were there to exercise their civic right as loyal party members. Another visually impaired member, Rufai Yusuf, also from Sokoto State, declared: “We are with our families to pay goodness with goodness; we are all here for Yahaya Seriki.”
At Adewole and Alananmu wards in Ilorin West, the situation favored Seriki, with chants of “Sai Yahaya” filling the air. In Kwara South, Alhaji Adebayo Yakeen (also known as Baba Blue) at Ganmo/Idanfian said they did not see electoral officers to conduct the exercise. “But we ordered ourselves to queue up and we counted ourselves and have since sent the results to our leadership in the state,” he told newsmen. However, Mr. Busari Olaiya Lukman and Alhaji Mustapha (also known as Leko), both ward officers, urged journalists to disregard Adebayo’s claim, adding that the ward chairman had gone to the state secretariat for electoral materials.
