The Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), North Central Nigeria, has dismissed allegations that the emergence of its governorship candidate for the 2027 election is part of a plan to install a proxy governor, insisting that the party conducted a credible primary election and remains on course for a resounding victory at the polls.
Speaking during an interview on National Television, the state APC Chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, defended the emergence of Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Danladi Yakubu-Salihu, as the party’s flagbearer, describing him as a competent politician with a proven record in public office.
Fagbemi said the governorship primary that produced Danladi was free, fair and reflected the wishes of party members across the state.
“A free and fair primary has been conducted in Kwara State and a winner has emerged,” he said.
Responding to allegations that Danladi’s emergence was designed to pave the way for Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to retain influence after leaving office, Fagbemi said such claims were unfounded and politically motivated.
“Are they saying Danladi is not a Kwaran? Did they say he is contesting for governorship the third term? If any other person had emerged, they would find something else to say.
Everybody prays to grow politically. This is not the era in Kwara when someone would put a surrogate in office,” he said.
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The APC chairman also sought to distinguish the current administration from previous political arrangements in the state, saying “Governor AbdulRazaq governs independently and has not imposed any successor on the party.”
“We’ve had a governor who could not append a signature without taking permission from his predecessor, but it is not so with APC and won’t be so with Governor AbdulRazaq,” he added.
On the suitability of the party’s candidate, Fagbemi pointed to Danladi’s tenure as Speaker of the State Assembly, saying his ability to work harmoniously with other arms of government demonstrated his leadership capacity.
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“Talking about competence, this is someone who served as Speaker of the State Assembly for two terms. There was no rancour. There was cooperation and synergy with the other arms of government. That takes a lot and it answers the question of competence,” he said.
Expressing confidence ahead of the 2027 governorship election, the APC chairman predicted a comfortable victory for the ruling party.
“I was in Kwara North recently and I’ll come back here to debate the wide margin with which we’d defeat the opposition come 2027,” he said.
Fagbemi also defended the AbdulRazaq administration’s record on infrastructure, healthcare and security, saying residents across the state were witnessing tangible improvements in governance.
According to him, all the 193 wards in the state now have functional healthcare facilities, while major towns and cities have experienced significant infrastructural development.
“There’s none of the 193 wards in Kwara State that you won’t find a functional healthcare centre today,” he said.
On security, the APC chairman commended the efforts of both the Federal Government and the State Government, noting that Kwara was among the first states to recruit thousands of forest guards to strengthen local security architecture.
