41-Year-Old Kwara Speaker Danladi Wins APC Governorship Ticket After Defeating 14 Aspirants

At just 41 years old, Salihu Yakubu Danladi has emerged as the governorship flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, positioning himself as one of the youngest major governorship candidates heading into the 2027 electoral cycle.

The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly secured a decisive victory in the APC governorship primary after defeating 14 other aspirants, including an incumbent senator, in a highly contested exercise held across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Danladi polled 94,990 votes to clinch the party’s ticket in a primary that had been overshadowed by internal tensions, succession battles, and competing political interests within the ruling party.

Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Committee and former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, announced the result at the Banquet Hall in Ilorin, describing the exercise as peaceful and successful.

“There is no loser in any contest in APC. We are all winners,” Obanikoro stated before declaring Danladi winner of the primary.

The emergence of Danladi comes after days of intense political maneuvering within the Kwara APC over who would succeed incumbent Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in 2027.

The race became increasingly controversial following reports that the governor was backing Yahaya Seriki as his preferred successor — a development that reportedly triggered resistance from several aspirants and influential blocs within the party.

Political uncertainty deepened further on Thursday after the APC abruptly suspended the governorship primary midway into the process, citing logistical challenges and the need for broader consultations among stakeholders.

With the primaries concluded, attention is now expected to shift toward possible alignments, reconciliation efforts within the party, and the response of opposition parties ahead of the general election season.