By Ola Taiwo
Thirty-five candidates will be contesting in the three senatorial elections in Kwara State on 2027 as indicated by the final list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
The list, published on the Kwara State INEC media platform on Sunday shows that 13 of the candidates will slug it out at the Kwara Central Senatorial District election, while the candidates are 11 each in the north and south senatorial districts.
In the central district election, the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, will contest against 12 other candidates including Saliu Mustapha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the incumbent senator representing the district
The other candidates in the district are Musa Aliyu of Accord; Kehinde Adesola of Action Alliance (AA); Gani Omolabi of the Action Democratic Party (ADP); Gbadesogun Olufemi Adeleke of the African Peoples Party(APP); Risikat Motunrayo Abdulahi of the African Democratic Congress(ADC); John Temitayo Anjorin of the Action Peoples Movement(APM); Maryam Ayoola Abdulkarim-Adisa of the Labour Party(LP); Adekunle Adepoju of the National Rescue Movement (NRM); Abdulhakeem Toyin Lawal of the New Nigeria Peoples Party(NNPP); Suleiman Abdulrasheed Olufemi Omoda of the National Democratic Congress(NDC); and Salma Abdul Yakini of the Social Democratic Party(SDP).
In the Kwara North Senatorial District, the 11 candidates that made the final list, include the APC candidate, Umar Muhammad Mahmud, the PDP’s, Kollo Jiya and ADC’s Taoheed Usman Bala
Others are Muritala A. Saliu of Accord; Mohammed Ibrahim Ejiko of AA; Naomi Temako of the ADP; Ramat Ibrahim of the APP, Felicia Owolabi of the APM; Sulaiman Abdulgafar of the NRM; Tajudeen Abdullahi Mohammed of the NNp;! and Thomas Audu Gana of the NDC
The candidates in the Kwara South include Olalekan Adewoye of the APC; Saheed Popoola of the PDP; Iyiola Oyedepo of the ADC; Segun Olarewaju of the APP; and Amos Alabi of the Accord.
Others are Balogun Abdullahi of the ADP; Olayemi Bidemi Ajayi of the APM: Sulaiman Abdulgafar of the NRM; Adedoyin Raymond Omokanye of the NNPP; Samuel Omoniyi Oni of the NDC and Grace Anifowoshe of the SDP
Saliu Mustapha is the only incumbent senator contesting in the senatorial election as his two colleagues incumbent senator from the south and north districts have been replaced in their APC party with other candidates.
Mustapha left APC for PDP when he was unable to clinch the APC’s governorship ticket to go for governorship election and could not also secure the senatorial ticket which Governor Abdulrazaq has picked.
While the other two incumbent senators are serving their second term he is just serving first term.
