40-Year-Old Kwara Speaker Danladi Secures APC Governorship Ticket After Crushing Victory Over Seriki, Bolarinwa

 By Kehinde Awosina 




Yakubu Danladi Salihu, the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State following a decisive win in the party’s 2027 gubernatorial primaries.


Danladi, 40, recorded a commanding 94,000 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ambassador Yahaya Seriki, who polled 41,700 votes, while former APC state chairman, Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa (BOB), scored 22,118 votes in the closely watched contest.


The result was officially announced by the Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Committee, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who declared Danladi as the party’s flag bearer ahead of the 2027 general elections.


Danladi’s emergence marks a major milestone in a political journey that began long before his entry into elective office. Born in Gwanara, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State on May 31, 1985, he rose from humble beginnings as the son of the late Alhaji Salihu Aliyu (Tafarkin Borgu), building a profile rooted in education, engineering, and youth leadership.


He attended Baruten LGA Education Authority School before proceeding to Baptist Grammar School, Okuta, and St. Anthony Secondary School, Ilorin, where he completed his secondary education in 2001. He later studied Electrical/Electronic Engineering at Kaduna Polytechnic, earning both his Diploma and Higher National Diploma with Upper Credit before proceeding to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in the same field with Second Class Upper honours.


Before venturing fully into politics, Danladi worked at the National Water Resources Institute during his NYSC year and later served at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, between 2010 and 2018, where he combined academic work with personal development.


His political journey was shaped early through student leadership roles, including positions in the National Union of Baruten Students and the National Association of Kwara State Students (NAKSS), Kaduna Polytechnic chapter. He also held youth leadership positions in political movements across Kwara North, including coordinating youth structures in both CPC and PDP campaign organizations at different stages of his early political engagement.


In 2019, he made a major political breakthrough when he was elected into the Kwara State House of Assembly on the platform of the APC, becoming one of the youngest lawmakers in the state. His colleagues later elected him Speaker of the 9th Assembly, a position he retained into the 10th Assembly.


As Speaker, Danladi has been credited with legislative leadership and constituency development projects, including rural road rehabilitation, construction of classrooms, provision of solar-powered streetlights, and the drilling of over 100 boreholes to improve access to clean water across communities in his constituency.


His victory in the APC primaries is seen as a continuation of his rising political profile within Kwara State, where he has built strong support among youths and grassroots political actors.


Danladi, who is married with children, is expected to face the general election as the APC flag bearer, setting the stage for a highly competitive governorship race in Kwara State.

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