2027: AbdulRazaq predicts APC victory in Kwara, cites Wike’s support for Tinubu

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) enjoys broad support in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections, citing Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike’s backing for President Bola Tinubu.

Mr AbdulRazaq made the statement on Sunday in Ilorin while receiving a delegation of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), led by its Director-General, Abdulaziz Yari.

The governor dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a weakened political force in Kwara. He argued that Mr Wike’s support for Mr Tinubu could further strengthen the APC’s electoral position.

“The balance of the equation here is 70-30: 70 per cent APC and 30 per cent PDP. And that’s consistent from 2019 until the election. Nothing has changed except that the PDP has continued to weaken,” Mr AbdulRazaq said.

He added that Mr Wike’s position could change the political calculations ahead of the elections.

“With the national leader of the PDP being a member of our campaign council and declaring that his party, the PDP, will vote for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it means that the PDP 30 per cent versus our 70 per cent is now adding up to 100 per cent,” he said.

The governor’s projection was not accompanied by independent polling data to substantiate the claimed support percentages.

Mr Wike’s support for Mr Tinubu has persisted despite his disagreements with some APC governors, including Mr AbdulRazaq.

During a media chat in Port Harcourt on 2 September, the minister accused the Kwara governor of leading a campaign against him and said he had confronted him over the alleged hostility.

The disagreement is linked to Mr Wike’s relationships with aggrieved APC figures in Kwara, some of whom oppose the governor’s preferred candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Wike-led PDP’s governorship candidate, Suleiman Kawu, is supported by some of the aggrieved APC figures, including sitting Kwara Central District senator, Salihu Mustapha, who is seeking reelection as the PDP candidate.

Mr AbdulRazaq expressed confidence in the APC’s Kwara governorship candidate, Salihu Yakubu Danladi, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, saying his legislative experience had given him an understanding of the state’s budget and government operations.

The governor defended his administration’s record since the APC took office in 2019, citing developments in education, healthcare and the civil service.

“When we came in 2019, it was a challenging situation. Salaries were not paid, gratuities were not paid, pensions were not paid. That is a thing of the past,” he said.

Mr Yari said the delegation visited Kwara to seek the governor’s continued support for the APC’s nationwide campaign.

The delegation included former governors Abdullahi Ganduje, Olusegun Mimiko, Ali Modu Sheriff, Rochas Okorocha, Aminu Bello Masari, Adamu Badaru, Ibrahim Shema, Sani Yerima, Danjuma Goje and Abubakar Aleiro, as well as APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole and former lawmaker Olubunmi Ette were also among those present.

The delegation, accompanied by Mr AbdulRazaq, later visited the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, at his palace to pay homage and seek prayers ahead of the 2027 elections.

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The visit comes amid internal disagreements within the Kwara APC over the party’s governorship ticket.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that a group identifying itself as the Kwara State APC Elders Caucus rejected Mr Danladi’s emergence as the party’s governorship candidate and urged the national leadership to revisit the outcome of the 22 May primary.

The party dismissed the group’s position, insisting that the primary was validly conducted.

A Federal High Court in Abuja later dismissed a suit challenging Mr Danladi’s candidacy over alleged double nomination, holding that the claimant lacked the legal standing to institute the action and that the allegation was not established on the merits.