The National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress has suspended the Kwara State governorship primary election midway and postponed the exercise until Friday.
The chairman of the party in Kwara State, Sunday Fagbemi, confirmed the development on Thursday in Ilorin, stating that officials from the party’s national headquarters directed that the exercise be shifted without providing reasons for the decision.
According to him, the instruction came while voting was ongoing across parts of the state.
The development followed reports that eight governorship aspirants had withdrawn from the race in support of businessman Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki, widely regarded as the preferred successor of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
The aspirants who reportedly stepped down for Seriki include Salako Oluwatoyin, Ahmad Mahmoud, Professor Wale Sulaiman, Mohammed Bio, Toyin Alabi, Hajiya Aisha Patigi, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, and Yakubu Danladi-Salihu.
The decision was said to have been reached after a strategic meeting involving Seriki and key party stakeholders on Wednesday night, with participants pledging commitment to party unity and continuity of the AbdulRazaq administration’s programmes.
Before the postponement, party members had gathered in several wards across the Kwara Central Senatorial District from early Thursday morning to participate in the primary election.
