The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Saliu Danladi, has clinched the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in Kwara State after winning the party’s primary election held across the state on Friday.
Danladi secured a landslide victory with over 94,000 votes, defeating 14 other aspirants in a tightly contested race.
Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahya-Seriki, his closest challenger, polled 41,700 votes, while former Kwara APC Chairman, Bashir Bolarinwa, came third with 22,118 votes.
The results were officially declared by Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who chaired the APC governorship primary election supervisory committee.
Out of the contestants, only three aspirants—Saliu Danladi, Professor Wale Sulaiman, and Captain Mahmud—were present when the results were announced.
The primary followed intense internal politicking within the ruling party in the state. Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had earlier shown public support for Yahya-Seriki, a move widely seen as an endorsement ahead of the contest.
However, the exercise was postponed from Thursday to Friday after consultations and rising tensions among party stakeholders.
In the final hours leading to the election, political alliances reportedly shifted, with support swinging toward the Speaker, ultimately influencing the outcome in his favour.
Yahya-Seriki and several other aspirants were absent during the final declaration, fueling further speculation of dissatisfaction within parts of the party over the process.
