By James Patterson
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has expressed confidence that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would retain power in the state in the 2027 general elections, declaring that the party has grown stronger while the opposition has become weaker.
The governor spoke in Ilorin during the APC Youth Engagement 2026, where he urged party members to begin grassroots mobilisation across wards and polling units to ensure victory at the polls.
Addressing party faithful, AbdulRazaq said his administration inherited a collapsed system in 2019 but has since transformed key sectors, including education, healthcare and infrastructure.
He also presented the party’s candidates for various elective offices, describing the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly and APC governorship candidate, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi (SYD), as a competent and experienced leader capable of sustaining the administration’s development agenda.
“SYD is part and parcel of this administration. All the projects that you see us doing today were appropriated under his leadership at the State House of Assembly,” the governor said.
Questioning critics of the Speaker’s candidacy, AbdulRazaq added: “How can you say a Speaker of almost eight years does not have experience? How can you say that Kwara has developed but the person that made appropriation at the Assembly for that development does not have experience?”
He urged party members not to become complacent despite the APC’s growing popularity.
“Our job has just begun for the next phase. You are to go home, go to your various wards, zones and polling booths to start organizing yourselves,” he said.
“We are not complacent but at the same time, our party has now become stronger than ever, while the opposition is much weaker than how they were in the previous elections. We should, however, do more hard work in order to attain victory. Insha Allah, 2027 shall be the year of victory.”
The governor commended the large turnout of youths at the event, describing it as a vote of confidence in his administration and the party’s candidates.
Reflecting on his administration’s achievements, AbdulRazaq said the state had witnessed remarkable progress after years of neglect.
“Our education sector had collapsed when we came in. That was when the same PDP government diverted the UBEC funds. That was when the teachers became farmers and school attendance dropped. It was a complete collapse of the system. But we came and turned things around, and today they can proudly say that Kwara is one of the leading states in Nigeria,” he said.
In his remarks, the APC governorship candidate, Danladi, thanked the governor and party leadership for the confidence reposed in him, pledging to build on the administration’s achievements if elected.
“I thank Your Excellency for the idea of bringing someone with legislative experience to come and lead the state. By His grace, the transformation agenda of Kwara, which we are part and parcel of, would be sustained and improved upon,” he said.
Danladi maintained that Governor AbdulRazaq had performed creditably across the state.
“You have performed wonderfully well. As legislators going for oversight, I can confirm that you have done well in all 193 wards in the state. We have learnt a lot from your transformation agenda and we will keep the train moving by the grace of God,” he stated.
The APC governorship candidate also dismissed reports of divisions within the party, describing disagreements that emerged during the primaries as part of democratic competition.
“Our brothers will come back. We are all one family and they should come back to their home. As candidates, we have been reaching out to them,” he said, while commending the reconciliation efforts led by the state party chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi.
Earlier, Fagbemi formally presented the party’s candidates and expressed confidence that the APC would secure another mandate in 2027, citing the AbdulRazaq administration’s performance over the past seven years.
While acknowledging that some party members were dissatisfied with the outcome of the primaries, he urged them to channel their grievances through established party mechanisms.
“People that are aggrieved are entitled to be aggrieved, but the process in which they channel their grievances is unethical and against the laid down rules of the party,” he said.
Also speaking, APC chieftain Alhaji Femi Agbaje appealed to aggrieved members to remain patient and avoid actions capable of weakening the party, noting that politics always presents new opportunities.
Delivering the keynote address titled, “One Party, One Mission: Building Unity for Electoral Success,” the APC senatorial candidate for Kwara North, Dr. Mahmud Umar Muhammed, urged members to put collective interest above personal ambition.
“We must replace grievances with reconciliation. We must replace disagreements with dialogue. We must replace competition with cooperation,” he said.
“The APC family must remain united because our people expect leadership, not division. A strong party is built by members who understand that political success is not achieved by working against one another, but by working together.”
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