Kwara 2027: Gov. AbdulRazaq endorses APC’s Yahaya Seriki as preferred successor

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has endorsed Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki as his preferred successor ahead of the 2027 governorship election in the state.

AbdulRazaq announced the endorsement in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

The governor said the decision followed extensive consultations with party leaders and structures across the state.

“Following extensive consultations with party structures and leadership, I am pleased to endorse Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki as my preferred successor under the platform of our party, the All Progressives Congress, APC,” he said.

AbdulRazaq described Seriki as a youthful, pro-people and broad-minded politician with strong mobilisation capacity and goodwill across Kwara State.

“Young, pro-people, astute, and broad-minded, Amb. Yahaya Seriki has been a great political mobiliser with profound investments in and extensive goodwill among the people of Kwara State.

“I have no doubt about his capacity and that his choice is appropriate for the people of our state at this time,” the governor added.

However, AbdulRazaq clarified that his endorsement of Seriki does not stop other governorship aspirants from contesting the APC primary.

The APC governorship primary in Kwara is scheduled to hold on Thursday, May 21, 2026.

The governor urged party members and leaders to support Seriki’s emergence in the interest of cohesion, unity and continued success of the ruling party in the state.

“While this does not in any way preclude all other aspirants from contesting in the primaries, I urge members and leaders to affirm the choice of Seriki as our candidate for cohesion, unity, and continuous success of the party as we hold our gubernatorial primaries on Thursday, May 21, 2026,” he said.

AbdulRazaq also said his endorsement should not be seen as a rejection of other aspirants seeking the APC ticket.

According to him, the party has many qualified aspirants, but only one person can emerge as candidate at a time.

“The choice of Amb. Yahaya Seriki is neither a disapproval of any of our eminently qualified aspirants nor a whimsical attempt to delegitimise the noble aspirations of our people.

“But in a race involving some 16 great minds for one office, only one person can take the shot at a time,” the governor stated.

He praised the conduct of the aspirants, saying they had shown maturity, discipline and commitment to building on the achievements of his administration.

“Finally, I acknowledge and commend the statesmanship of our aspirants, all of whom have shown discipline and impressive capacity to build on the undeniable achievements of our administration over the last seven years for the good of the people of Kwara State,” he added.

The endorsement is expected to shape the battle for the APC governorship ticket in Kwara, with Seriki now positioned as the governor’s preferred choice in the succession race.

AbdulRazaq, who is serving his second and final term as governor, is expected to leave office in 2027.