Kwara Senator Mustapha Dumps APC After Losing Governorship, Senate Tickets

Senator Saliu Mustapha, representing Kwara Central, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) after failing to secure the party’s governorship ticket and a return to the Senate.

Mustapha announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the APC ward chairman in Gambari Ward 1, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State.

He said his decision followed “careful reflection and extensive consultations” with his constituents and key stakeholders.

Mustapha, a founding member of the APC, said recent developments within the party, particularly under its leadership in Kwara, had departed from the principles of collective unity and internal democracy upon which the party was founded.

“I believe political leadership must be anchored on integrity, competence, accountability and a sincere commitment to the collective interest of the people,” he said in a statement announcing his decision.

“The current leadership of the party in Kwara State have fallen short of these standards, and this has eroded my confidence in them.”

The senator said his resignation would not affect his commitment to his constituents or the state.

“I remain fully committed to serving the people of Kwara Central, Kwara State and Nigeria with integrity, dedication and in the best interest of humanity,” he added.

Mustapha had obtained the APC nomination form to contest the 2027 governorship election in Kwara and participated in the party’s primary held on May 22.

Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, won the primary with 94,990 votes, defeating Abdulfatai Seriki, who polled 41,700 votes. Bashir Bolarinwa came third with 22,118 votes.

Mustapha was among the aspirants who later joined calls for a review of the party’s primaries, alongside the other two serving senators from Kwara.

In June, the three senators — Mustapha, Oyelola Ashiru and Sadiq Umar — said the party needed urgent reconciliation over what they described as the exclusion of legitimate stakeholders from key decision-making processes.

The senator’s exit also comes after AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Kwara State governor, emerged as the APC’s preferred candidate for the Kwara Central senatorial seat.

AbdulRazaq was the only aspirant reported to have purchased the APC nomination and expression-of-interest forms for the ticket, putting him on course to replace Mustapha in the Senate after completing his second term as governor in May 2027.

There have also been speculations that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under the leadership of former Senate President Bukola Saraki in Kwara, has offered its senatorial ticket to Mustapha.

However, it remains unclear whether Mustapha will accept the reported offer or formally join the opposition party.

Mustapha’s resignation is expected to further reshape the political landscape in Kwara ahead of the 2027 elections.