Kwara PDP Faces Crisis as Two Governorship Candidates Emerge

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

A political crisis is currently unsettling the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, as two factional gubernatorial candidates have emerged.

While Dr. Bukola Saraki’s leadership is aligned with the Wike faction, the penultimate Sunday announced Engineer Kale Kawu Agaka as the party’s governorship flag bearer through a consensus process. Meanwhile, Alhaji Ladi Hassan was announced yesterday as the Turaki‑led PDP gubernatorial candidate in Kwara State.

Kayode Abdulrahman, the state secretary of the PDP, said that the factional candidate was sponsored by non‑PDP members in the state to destabilise the party.

The party secretary added that Mr. Ladi Hassan received a nomination form from the PDP and participated in the party’s governorship primaries, where he lost.

“For him to have gone to emerge as a governorship candidate in the fake PDP that’s not recognized by the INEC speaks volumes. He must have been sponsored by people outside our party. But I assure you they can’t succeed,” he lamented.

Alhaji Ladi Hassan, when contacted, confirmed the development and said his candidacy was affirmed after a primary held by the Taminu‑Turaki led faction in Abuja.

“Our primary took place in Abuja and I emerged through affirmation. That was what happened,” he said.

Political observers have warned that the split could severely undermine the PDP’s ability to present a united front in Kwara, a state the opposition is keen to reclaim.

Party stakeholders and supporters have begun calling for urgent reconciliation, but with both factions digging in, attention is now turning to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the courts to determine which candidate, if any, will legally represent the PDP in the 2027 governorship race.

The latest development is expected to have significant implications for the political landscape in Kwara State as preparations for the general elections gather momentum.

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