Speaker’s emergence as APC gov candidate reshapes Kwara’s politics – Groups

Youth groups across Kwara State say the emergence of the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 election has reshaped the political future of the state.

The groups said Danladi’s emergence had brought a younger generation of politicians into the centre of the state’s governorship contest, describing his political experience and legislative leadership as significant factors ahead of the election.

Their position was contained in a joint statement issued on Sunday by the Kwara North Integrity Youth Forum, Ilorin Emirate Dynamic Youths and Kwara South Young Professionals in Politics.

The statement was signed by the coordinators of the three groups: Aliyu Likofu, Abdulwaheed Olamilekan, and Owoduni Adekunle, respectively.

The groups said Danladi, 41, had been involved in student politics and campaign organisation before his election to the State House of Assembly in 2019.

According to them, his emergence as the APC candidate should therefore not be viewed solely through the prism of his age.

“Yakubu Salihu Danladi’s age is only one part of the equation. His political career began when he was still involved in student politics and later expanded into campaign organisation before he entered the State House of Assembly in 2019,” Likofu, the KNIYF coordinator, disclosed.

He pointed out that Danladi became Speaker of the Ninth Assembly at the age of 34 and retained the position after his re-election in 2023.

“He was re-elected in 2023 and retained the speakership. The significance of his candidacy lies in the fact that he is not approaching the governorship as a political newcomer,” he highlighted.

The group coordinator insisted that Danladi’s years of political organisation, constituency representation and legislative leadership had provided him with considerable political experience despite his relatively young age.

Meanwhile, Olamilekan, the coordinator of IEDY, also observed that Danladi’s emergence reflected what he described as a changing political landscape in the state since the 2019 election.

“The 2019 election dismantled the political order associated with the Saraki era and brought AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the APC to power,” Olamilekan said.

He said the development had created greater opportunities for younger politicians to participate in government and political structures.

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“Seven years later, the political environment is taking a new shape, with Danladi representing a generation that has acquired experience within the political system and is now stepping forward to lead,” he said.

Olamilekan further noted the the AbdulRazaq administration had consistently promoted youth participation in governance through appointments into government and other political structures.

He added that Danladi’s candidacy represented an opportunity for a younger generation to seek the state’s highest political office.

Similarly, Adekunle, the coordinator of KSYPIP, said the 2027 election would present Danladi with the opportunity to defend the APC’s record while establishing his own political identity.

He said the APC candidate would face the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Sulaiman Bolakale Kawu, and the African Democratic Congress candidate, former federal lawmaker Zakari Mohammed.

“Danladi therefore faces a contest involving more than party labels. He is poised to defend the APC’s record, carry forward the political legacy of the AbdulRazaq administration and simultaneously establish an identity of his own,” Adekunle said.

He insisted that Danladi’s experience in the legislature had exposed him to governance, lawmaking and political negotiation, which he described as important as he seeks to lead the state.

The groups said the Speaker’s youthful profile should be considered alongside the political experience he had acquired over the years.

They stressed that his progression from student politics and campaign organisation to constituency representation and leadership of the State House of Assembly showed that he had passed through different levels of political responsibility.

The groups added that the 2027 election would give the electorate an opportunity to assess the candidates’ records, programmes and capacity to govern the state.

Arewa PUNCH reports that with campaigns for the governorship election scheduled to begin on September 9, attention is expected to shift to the candidates’ programmes, records and ability to mobilise support and across the three senatorial districts.

The governorship election is scheduled to hold on February 6, 2027.