APC national leadership postpones Kwara governorship primary election

The All Progressives Congress governorship primary election for Kwara State, scheduled for Thursday has been postponed Friday.

The state party chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, confirmed to newsmen that his office was aware that the national leadership ordered the cancellation.

According to him, “we don’t have details for the cancellation other than the fact that the team from the national office came and instructed that the election be held tomorrow.”

However, barely a few hours before the commencement of the postponed primary in the state, eight aspirants Thursday stepped down for Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki, the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s preferred successor.

Seriki had on Wednesday evening, held strategic engagements with fellow aspirants and key stakeholders in the state, during which they unanimously resolved to support his candidature in the interest of unity and continuity of Governor AbdulRazaq’s achievements.

Those who pledged support for Seriki were Dr Salako Oluwatoyin, Captain Ahmad Mahmoud, Professor Wale Sulaiman, Dr Mohammed Bio, Dr Toyin Alabi, former Local Government commissioner in the state, Hajia Aisha Ahman Patigi, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Yakubu Salihu Danladi.

The meeting ended with a renewed commitment to party cohesion, issue-based engagement, and a peaceful primary process capable of further strengthening the APC in Kwara State.

Further indications suggest that more aspirants may step down ahead of the primary election.

Meanwhile, at the primary proper, people, including physically challenged APC members, trooped out in the Kwara Central Senatorial District to participate in the electoral process as early as 8:00 am for the exercise that eventually started at noon across the state.

At Gambari ward II, Karumo in Ilorin East, a Sokoto State-born visually-impaired Abubakar Gobir told newsmen that he and his mates and colleagues were at the arena to exercise their civic right as loyal party members.

Another visually-impaired, Rufai Yusuf, also from Sokoto State, declared: “We are with our families to pay goodness with goodness, we are all here for Yahaya Seriki.”

At Adewole and Alananmu wards in Ilorin West, the situation tilted to the advantage of Seriki as the shout: “sai Yahaya” rent the air.

In Kwara South, Alhaji Adebayo Yakeen A.K.A Baba blue, at Ganmo/Idanfian said they did not see electoral officers to conduct the exercise, “but we ordered ourselves to queue up, and we counted ourselves and have since sent the results to our leadership in the state,” he told newsmen.

However, Mr Busari Olaiya Lukman and Alhaji Mustapha, also known as Leko, both ward officers, urged journalists to disregard the Adebayo claim, adding that the ward chairman went to the state secretariat for electoral materials.

APC national leadership postpones Kwara governorship primary election