Ilorin, August 28 – The All Progressives Congress governorship primary held on May 22, 2026, became the flashpoint in a power struggle that has split the Kwara State APC between Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Senator Saliu Mustapha. For months, Mustapha, also the Turaki of Ilorin Emirate, was widely regarded as a leading contender for the governorship seat that will become vacant when AbdulRazaq completes his second term on May 29, 2027.
His executive assistant, Abdulkareem Alabi, told The PUNCH that the senator’s ambition was singular: “What the senator wanted was the governorship ticket, nothing more, nothing less.” The primary, conducted across the state’s 193 wards after a postponement attributed to logistical challenges, produced Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu of the Kwara State House of Assembly as the APC candidate. Danladi-Salihu secured 94,990 votes, a decisive lead over Yahaya Seriki, who scored 41,700 votes, while former state APC chairman Bashir Bolarinwa placed third with 22,118 votes.
Mustapha’s camp expressed sharp disappointment, alleging that his name was unexpectedly listed among candidates for the Kwara Central Senate seat on the morning of the National Assembly primary. Alabi said the senator was unaware of the listing and maintained that the rumor was “false and unfounded,” emphasizing that Mustapha had only submitted an expression of interest for the governorship. According to Alabi, senior party figures later explained that President Bola Tinubu had shown a special interest in Mustapha succeeding AbdulRazaq, a move the governor allegedly resisted.
“The governor insisted that Mustapha could only become his successor over his dead body,” Alabi alleged. The governor’s office denied involvement, with Senior Special Assistant on Communications Ibraheem Abdullateef stating that it was President Tinubu who denied Mustapha the ticket.
The fallout has redrawn alliances within the Kwara APC as the 2027 election approaches. Observers will watch whether the intra-party rift leads to defections or a reshaped candidate slate, and how the competing claims of influence from the state governor and the presidency will shape the party’s prospects.
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