Kwara North senator's bid for a third term faces setback

Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar’s bid for a third term has encountered resistance from a portion of his senatorial district.

During a press conference in Ilorin on Tuesday, Salihu Bologi Umar, national president of the Patigi Emirate Development Union (PEDU), said he was deeply concerned about reports that the incumbent senator intends to run for re‑election in the Kwara North Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections.

The group announced its stance, which includes a “no to third‑term representation, respect for the established zoning tradition, Justice for Patigi local government area, two terms are sufficient and Patigi turn is now.”

“Kwara North belongs to all its constituent communities equally; no individual or local government area should dominate the collective political destiny of the district at the expense of fairness, balance, and democratic justice,” the group said.

Bologi urged political actors, stakeholders, traditional institutions, youth groups and community leaders across the Kwara North Senatorial District to uphold fairness, equity, dialogue and mutual respect in the interest of regional peace, political stability and democratic sustainability.

The group warned that “any attempt to deny Patigi Emirate its rightful opportunity to produce the next senator for Kwara North may compel many stakeholders and supporters within the Emirate to reconsider their political options and explore alternative democratic platforms capable of accommodating the legitimate aspirations of our people.”

“This position is not intended as a threat, but as a sincere appeal for justice, inclusion and the preservation of political trust between the party and the people of Patigi Emirate.”

The national president said, “For decades, the people and political stakeholders of Kwara North Senatorial District have sustained a respected and peaceful zoning understanding founded on the principles of justice, equity, inclusion and mutual political respect.”

Bologi explained that the zoning arrangement, which rotates representation among the constituent local government areas every two terms (eight years), has been instrumental in preserving political harmony, strengthening inter‑community trust and promoting collective ownership of democratic representation within the senatorial district.

“It is on the basis of this long‑standing and widely acknowledged understanding that the people of Patigi Local Government Area consider it both justifiable and appropriate that the 2027 Kwara North Senatorial District mandate be ceded to Patigi Local Government Area,” the group added.