By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
The Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has declared Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki his preferred candidate for governorship position come 2027 saying; he is his preferred candidate.
Not less than 16 members including Seriki of the governor’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are jostling to succeed him.
In a press statement personally signed by the governor on Tuesday, he declared that his decision followed “an extensive consultations with party structures and leadership in the State”.
His words; ” I am pleased to endorse Ambassador Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki (MFR) as my preferred successor under the platform of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC)”.
The governor described Seriki as 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”, he added.
Governor AbdulRazaq also said; while his does not in any way preclude all other aspirants from contesting in the primaries, he urged members and leaders to affirm the choice of Seriki as the party’s candidate “for cohesion, unity, and continuous success of the party as we hold our gubernatorial primaries on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
He also said; the choice of Amb. Yahaya Seriki was neither a disapproval of any of APC’s eminently qualified aspirants nor a whimsical attempt to delegitimise the noble aspirations of the people but that “in a race involving some 16 great minds for one office, only one person can take the shot at a time”.
“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”, the governor concluded.