Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi Salihu, has emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, crushing a field of ten aspirants with a commanding performance that left little doubt about where the party faithful stood.
The result, declared on Friday evening by Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Chairman of the Kwara State APC Governorship Primaries, confirmed what political watchers had long anticipated: that the man popularly known as SYD had consolidated an unassailable grip on the party structure from the northernmost corridors of the state down to its southern heartland.
Danladi polled a decisive 94,990 votes, a figure that dwarfed the combined tallies of his nearest rivals. His closest challenger, Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki, who had entered the race as the anointed favorite of incumbent Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, managed just 41,700 votes, less than half of the Speaker’s total.
Third-place finisher Dr. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa trailed further with 22,118 votes, while the remaining aspirants barely made a dent in the final count.
The full breakdown of results painted a picture of near-total dominance:
Yakubu Danladi Salihu (Winner)—94,990
Amb. Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki—41,700
Dr. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa—22,118
Engr. Femi Sani—5,519
Sen. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe—3,920
Dele Belgore— 3,411
Prof. Wale Suleiman—2,434
Prof. Abubakar Suleiman—1,722
Mohamed Bio— 1,122
Dr. Alabi Oluwatoyin—1,099
Perhaps the most consequential subplot of Friday’s primary was the dramatic political realignment in the days leading up to the vote. Governor Abdulrazaq, who had initially backed Seriki as his preferred successor, executed a notable pivot, throwing his weight behind Danladi and urging party loyalists to follow suit.
In a remarkable show of political discipline, Seriki himself subsequently mobilized support for the Speaker, presenting a unified front that appeared to translate directly into the ballot box.
That unity was not merely ceremonial. Field reports from across the state described scenes of enthusiastic participation among party delegates, many of whom turned up clutching Danladi’s campaign posters as they cast their votes, a symbolic gesture that underscored the organic groundswell behind the Speaker’s candidacy.
The geographical spread of Danladi’s victory was, by any measure, extraordinary. Across all five local government areas in the North Senatorial District, the Speaker captured more than 90 percent of the vote, a margin that speaks less to a competitive primary and more to a coronation by consensus.
The story was no different in the South. From Offa and Oyun to Irepodun, Ekiti, Isin, Oke Ero, and Ifelodun, communities delivered resounding mandates for the Speaker, suggesting that his influence extends well beyond his legislative base and into the broader social fabric of the state.
In Ilorin, the state capital, the results mirrored the statewide trend. From Alanamu to Ajikobi, Ojuekun, and Adewole in Ilorin West, to Ibagun and Gambari in Ilorin East, SYD led comfortably, a fact that will not be lost on opposition strategists already beginning to map out their general election calculus.
With the APC ticket now firmly in his hands, Danladi, a figure who has spent years cultivating relationships across Kwara’s complex ethnic, religious, and geopolitical landscape, turns his attention to the general governorship election. The scale of his primary victory will likely embolden his campaign machinery, but it also raises the stakes considerably.
For Governor Abdulrazaq, whose administration had initially charted a different course of succession, Friday’s outcome represents both a test of political pragmatism and, ultimately, an exercise in damage control that appeared, at least on the surface, to succeed.
Whether the unity forged in the crucible of this primary will endure through a bruising general election campaign remains to be seen.
For now, however, the message from Kwara’s ruling party is unmistakable: Yakubu Danladi Salihu is the man, and the party, by a margin of nearly 95,000 votes, has spoken.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Kwara State House of Assembly Speaker, Yakubu Danladi Salihu, has secured the APC governorship ticket in a landslide, polling 94,990 votes against all competitors.
The most telling aspect of this victory is not just the margin but the political realignment that preceded it. Governor Abdulrazaq abandoned his own anointed candidate to back Danladi, swinging the full weight of the party machinery behind the Speaker.
The result was a near-unanimous verdict across all three senatorial districts. In Kwara‘s political landscape, Friday’s primary was less an election and more a consolidation of power, and Danladi now heads into the general election as both the party’s candidate and, effectively, the governor’s chosen heir.
