About 16 aspirants from the All Progressives Congress (APC) are contesting the governorship primaries of the party this week.

Most of the aspirants, however, boycotted a consensus meeting summoned by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Thursday.

The aspirants suspected that the meeting was a trap to endorse a candidate.

Out of the 16 aspirants, only Mr Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN) showed up, leading to the postponement of the session.

But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is worried that the governor has not been able to agree with all the aspirants on a unifying candidate.

The governor has so far rejected two leading aspirants recommended by stakeholders in Abuja and Kwara State because of his preference for the Kwara North Senatorial District.

It was also worrisome that despite the poverty level in the state, over N3billion was realised from the sale of nomination forms for primaries at all levels.

The APC leadership may be left with no choice but to pick an aspirant with electoral assets because there is a legal precedent that the ticket belongs to the party.

The confusion in the APC has led to celebration in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose leader, ex-President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, is poised to regain the state.

The 16 governorship aspirants, who have purchased expression of interest and governorship nomination forms, are Sen. Saliu Mustapha; Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman; Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa; Mallam Yahaya Abdulfatai Seriki; Sen. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe;

Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), Olufemi Sanni and Mohammed Omar Bio.

Others are Dr. Alabi Oluwatoyin Tajudeen; the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Yakubu Danladi Salihu; Tajudeen Audu AbdulKadir, and Dr Azeez Salako Muyideen O.

Others are Ibrahim Mahmoud, Yetunde Musiliat Bello, Mahalia Aishatu Ahman-Pategi, and Prof Olawale Adeniyi Suleiman.

It was learnt that meetings were held in Ilorin, Lagos and Abuja without any headway on a common aspirant.

The governor met with the President last week in France, where he was advised to go and put his house in order.

A top source said, “The shopping list is growing by the day. The governor’s initial preference was Speaker Danladi from Kwara North District, but the voting strength of the district is low.

“Some stakeholders later settled for a former Chairman of APC in the state, Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa from Kwara South District. But due to a frosty relationship with Bolarinwa, the governor rejected him.

“Attention later shifted to Kwara Central District in order to take the battle to Saraki, who is now consolidating his grip. Party leaders opted for Sen. Saliu Mustapha, who is a match for the PDP. Again, the governor said no to the Senator.

“Last week, he met with his consultants in Lagos, and they came up with Mallam Yahaya Abdulfatai Seriki, who is a moneybag but without political experience. Seriki has never contested for any office, and he has never held a political appointment. Yet, the governor took the latest choice to Paris, France.

“Again, on Thursday, the governor invited all the aspirants to a meeting with an agenda for an aspirant. Everyone became suspicious. “Another source said the governor is confused about who should succeed him.

” I think he wants to be the last APC governor in the state if he doesn’t have his way. The stage we are in the APC in Kwara is about closing ranks and not divisive politics.

“We can’t shy away from the reality that the Kwara Central District holds the key to the President and APC victory in 2027. The next responsibility is to look for an aspirant who can win the election instead of window shopping.

“The ball is in the governor’s court,” the source added.

Botched meeting

It was learnt that the notice of the meeting with all governorship aspirants was signed on May 13th, 2026, by the State Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Abdulwaheed Olawale Babatunde.

It reads: “You are hereby invited to a crucial meeting with His Excellency, Mallam Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, Executive Governor of Kwara State.

“Details: Date: Thursday, 14th May 2026 .Time:12:00 noon prompt. Venue: Banquet Hall, Opposite Government House, Ilorin.

“Purpose: Strategic engagement ahead of upcoming party primaries.

“Note: You are expected to attend with one individual of your choice. Attendance is mandatory. Kindly treat this as important and make necessary arrangements to be present on time.”

Some aspirants confirmed that they boycotted the Thursday meeting.

“The notice from the governor was too short. We have also got to know what happened in Paris, France, and we chose not to attend,” an aspirant said.

Another aspirant said, “We were alerted that local government chairmen were to attend with five delegates each. Then, there will be voting for the governor’s preferred aspirant. We decided to watch it.”

A third aspirant said, “We got a notice of a Thursday meeting in Ilorin by 6pm on Wednesday. Some of us don’t have planes to fly down to attend. “

A fourth aspirant said, “The list of aspirants suddenly increased to 16. We learnt somebody sponsored some aspirants ahead of a plot to make them withdraw for a predetermined aspirant. We boycotted the meeting. “

A source In the APC National Secretariat said, “We expect our governors to ensure consensus or go for direct primaries. But legally speaking, the ticket belongs to the party. We may overrule any governor and go for a candidate who can win the election.

” Kwara State is a major headache for us. 16 aspirants for one seat. It means there is a problem. “

Jubilation in PDP

The tension in the APC has been causing jubilation in the PDP, where Saraki is consolidating to reclaim the state.

A PDP stalwart said, “The end of “O to ge” conspiracy has come, things have fallen apart in the APC.

“We are waiting for APC to name its candidate before releasing our joker,” he said. (The Nation)

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