Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A deepening crisis is threatening to tear apart the Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the party’s Elders Caucus openly rejected the governorship candidacy of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, warning that retaining him as the party’s flagbearer could cost the APC electoral victory in the 2027 governorship election. The dramatic intervention, which unfolded during a press conference in Ilorin on Monday, has exposed growing internal tensions within the ruling party, with stakeholders accusing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of misleading President Bola Tinubu and the national leadership about the true political situation in the state.
The Elders Caucus, which is the apex advisory body established to counsel the governor and provide strategic direction for the party, said it had decided to publicly intervene after exhausting internal channels. The caucus leadership, led by its Chairman, Chief James Bamisaiye Ayeni, alongside Senator Mohammed Ahmed (Kwara North), Senator Makanju Ajadi (Kwara South), and Hon. Salman Jawondo, SAN (Kwara Central), declared that the party was standing at a critical crossroads and that silence was no longer an option. “We do not believe that the purported emergence of Yakubu Salihu Danladi as the APC governorship candidate represents the strongest political option available to the party at this critical moment,” the caucus stated.
The elders argued that Danladi-Salihu, widely regarded as Governor AbdulRazaq’s preferred candidate, lacks the statewide appeal, acceptability, and political strength required to unify the party and effectively challenge a resurgent opposition. They described the candidate as lacking the capability, competence, and charisma to fly the party’s flag. In a particularly damaging allegation, the caucus claimed that the governorship primary election scheduled for May 21, 2026, never actually took place, describing the process that produced Danladi-Salihu as “faulty and lacking credibility”. “Salihu Yakubu Danladi, who had earlier secured the ticket to return to the State Assembly, was surprisingly announced as the winner of a governorship primary election that, in reality, never took place,” the caucus declared. They further alleged that critical stakeholders, including aspirants and party elders, were not sufficiently consulted or carried along in decisions that would determine the party’s future.
The elders also accused Governor AbdulRazaq of failing to provide President Tinubu with an accurate assessment of the political realities in Kwara State. They warned that the opposition had grown significantly stronger and that the APC could no longer rely on past electoral successes. “Political realities have changed. Public expectations have changed. Voter behaviour has changed. The assumption that the APC can present any candidate and still coast to victory is not supported by the facts on the ground,” the group stated. The caucus further claimed that endorsements and publicity around Danladi-Salihu’s emergence had been amplified to project an image of widespread acceptance that does not reflect the true sentiments within party structures.
However, in a swift counter-reaction, another group of Kwara APC elders and stakeholders defended Danladi-Salihu’s candidacy. At a separate press conference also held in Ilorin on Monday, the group declared support for the governorship candidate and dismissed the opposition camp as “interlopers” not recognised within the official party structure. The supporters assured President Tinubu and the national leadership that Danladi-Salihu enjoys broad support across the state, particularly among young voters. They insisted that he convincingly won the governorship primaries and remains the most popular aspirant on account of his youthfulness, grassroots support, and capacity.
The Kwara State chapter of the APC also dismissed the elders’ position, describing it as false, misleading, and lacking official standing within the party structure. The PUNCH recalled that Danladi-Salihu was declared the winner of the APC governorship primary election on Friday, May 22, 2026, after polling 94,990 votes, with the official results announced by the Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Committee, Musiliu Obanikoro. Despite this formal declaration, the Elders Caucus has urged President Tinubu, APC National Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, and members of the National Working Committee to urgently revisit the outcome of the governorship primary and broaden consultations with stakeholders across the state. “We urge them to engage more broadly with the critical stakeholders across the state and to consider the long-term health, stability and sustainability of the APC above all other considerations,” the caucus said.
The growing rift highlights the deep divisions within the Kwara APC as the party approaches the 2027 elections. As the crisis deepens, the elders have warned that unless President Tinubu and the national leadership intervene, the APC may lose Kwara State to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The faction has also raised concerns about alleged interference from certain influential aides in the Presidency who, they claim, are working to foist an unpopular option on the APC in Kwara State in exchange for patronage. The unfolding drama in Kwara State has now become a major test for the APC’s internal cohesion and its ability to manage succession battles ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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