Kwara: Support, opposition as Gov Abdulrazaq endorses Seriki as successor
Dele Moses, Ilorin
The decision of the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, to endorse an aspirant among 16 of the aspirant his All Progressives Congress (APC) party seeking to succeed him as the next governor has received both support and opposition in the state.
The governor had in a statement on Tuesday announced his endorsement of Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki, as his preferred successor among the aspirants.
The governor, who disclosed that he made the endorsement after consultation with the structures and leadership of the APC in the state, said the choice of Seriki is appropriate for people of the state at this time.
The statements reads: “Following extensive consultations with party structures and leadership, I am pleased to endorse Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki (MFR) as my preferred successor under the platform of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Young, pro-people, astute, and broad-minded, Amb. Yahaya Seriki has been a great political mobiliser with profound investments in and extensive goodwill among the people of Kwara State. I have no doubt about his capacity and that his choice is appropriate for the people of our state at this time.
“While this does not in any way preclude all other aspirants from contesting in the primaries, I urge members and leaders to affirm the choice of Seriki as our candidate for cohesion, unity, and continuous success of the party as we hold our gubernatorial primaries on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
“The choice of Amb. Yahaya Seriki is neither a disapproval of any of our eminently qualified aspirants nor a whimsical attempt to delegittimise the noble aspirations of our people. But in a race involving some 16 great minds for one office, only one person can take the shot at a time.
“Finally, I acknowledge and commend the statesmanship of our aspirants, all of whom have shown discipline and impressive capacity to build on the undeniable achievements of our administration over the last seven years for the good of the people of Kwara State. “
Seriki hails from the Ilorin emirate and Kwara Central Senatorial District where at least four other prominent aspirants from the party also hail.
The other prominent aspirants include Saliu Mustapha, the incumbent senator representing the district; Yahaya Oloriegbe, the immediate past senator from the district; Sulaiman Abubakar, a former minister; and Dele Begore, a governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011.
Local government chairmen of the APC in the Kwara Central district and their counterparts in the south district have all supported the governor on endorsing Seriki.
In a joint statement signed by APC Local Government Chairmen in Asa, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, and Ilorin West, of the central district, the chairmen commended the governor for picking the politician as his preferred candidate ahead of the primaries on Thursday.
They expressed confidence in the choice of Seriki.
“It has always been our position that the Governor, like every leader who has done well for his people, deserve to have a strong say over who succeeds him. We are glad that His Excellency, after extensive consultations, has finally made his choice and we are fully in sync with this.
“We believe that Amb. Yahaya Seriki will be a worthy successor who will not only take the state to a higher level but will also protect the unprecedented legacies of the Governor,” they stated.
The chairmen said they will mobilise party stakeholders and members to support Seriki in the ballot.
“Now that a decision has been made, it is now our duty as loyal soldiers of the Governor and of the party to rally our people behind this thoughtful choice,” they said.
The chairmen in the south district unanimously declared their support for the emergence of Seriki as the preferred candidate of the party for the gubernatorial election.
The south district is the area from where hail some of the other prominent governorship aspirants such as Bashir Bolarinwa and Olufemi Danni.
In a statement issued after a brief meeting on Tuesday, the APC chairmen from the seven local government areas in the district commended Governor AbdulRazaq for what they described as a wise and strategic decision capable of sustaining the developmental strides of the current administration.
The statement says the governor’s leadership and performance over the years have earned him the moral authority to guide the party on the choice of a capable successor who will consolidate on his achievements.
“We in Kwara South APC fully align with the decision of His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, in supporting Ambassador Yahaya Seriki as the preferred governorship candidate of our great party ahead of the 2027 election.
“Ambassador Yahaya Seriki has consistently demonstrated loyalty to the party, commitment to grassroots development, and capacity for leadership. We are convinced that he possesses the experience, competence, and political maturity required to move Kwara State forward and sustain the remarkable legacies of this administration,” the statement reads.
The chairmen further pledged to mobilise party members, stakeholders, youths, and women across the district to ensure massive support for Seriki during the party primaries and the general election.
“As party leaders at the grassroots, we consider it our responsibility to unite our members and work tirelessly for the success of the party and the emergence of Ambassador Yahaya Seriki as the next Governor of Kwara State,” they stated.
However, the Ilorin Emirate Political Advisory Council has faulted the endorsement of Seriki by the governor as his preferred successor.
The council said that the move was not a collective decision of stakeholders in the emirate.
The council, made up of political elites, elders, technocrats, professionals and community leaders across the Ilorin emirate, noted the governor acted within his constitutional rights to support any aspirant of his choice.
The people however, stressed that such endorsement does not represent the collective position of the emirate.
In a statement signed on Tuesday by its National Coordinator, Yahaya Oloriegbe, and National Secretary, Lt. Col. Abubakar Edun (Rtd), the council said the endorsement lacked broad consultation and failed to reflect the political and social realities of the state.
“It wasn’t a collective decision. Such a decision remains entirely personal to the Governor and does not in any way represent the collective position, aspiration, or consensus of political stakeholders within the Ilorin Emirate,” the group stated.
“The purported endorsement was neither a product of broad consultation nor evidence of deep reflection on the delicate political, social and cultural realities of our community and the state at large,” it stated.
The council further criticised what it described as the unilateral and dismissive manner in which the endorsement was made, alleging that traditional rulers, religious leaders, elders and other critical stakeholders were sidelined in the process.
“What is even more deeply troubling in this instance is the unilateral, isolated and dismissive manner with which such a far-reaching political decision was taken without meaningful consultation,” it said.
The group said the Ilorin emirate has always upheld values of consultation, inclusion, moderation and consensus-building, that warned that no individual should attempt to impose political outcomes on the people.
“No individual, regardless of position, influence or temporary political power, should undermine these cherished ideals through unilateral decisions or attempts to impose political outcomes on the people,” the people said.
The council, however, clarified that its objection was not directed at Seriki personally, as it acknowledged his constitutional right to contest for the governorship position.
“As a respected son of the Ilorin Emirate, he is constitutionally entitled to pursue his political ambition like every other qualified citizen,” the group said.
It nonetheless rejected what it called the process through which Seriki’s emergence was being orchestrated and urged political stakeholders, traditional institutions, youth and women groups, as well as civil society organisations, to resist any attempt to impose candidates on the people ahead of the 2027 elections.
