Rt. Hon. Engr. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Kwara State, was formally presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The event marked the presidency's public endorsement of Danladi-Salihu ahead of the 2027 general elections. Danladi-Salihu emerged as the APC's flag bearer following a primary election held on Friday, May 23, 2026, where he defeated 15 other aspirants. He is the first candidate from the Borgu Kingdom to secure a governorship ticket from a ruling party since Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999.
Danladi-Salihu, who hails from Baruten Local Government Area in Kwara North Senatorial District, is an engineer by profession and currently serves as Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly. During the meeting, he praised President Tinubu, calling him the "Jagaban of Borgu," and said: "This is the first time since 1999 that Borgu kingdom will have a governorship candidate from a ruling party, and sincerely, we thank His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for looking at where he got the title Jagaban of Borgu and taking it to that side." President Tinubu, who has ancestral ties to the Borgu region, has previously supported power rotation to Kwara North.
Governor AbdulRazaq was widely commended for overseeing an orderly and inclusive succession process. Danladi-Salihu described him as "a man of his words, a leader and a transformer who has done very well across different sectors," and pledged to build on the administration's achievements. The Kwara North Traditional Rulers Council, led by Etsu Patigi Alh Ibrahim Umar Bologi II, hailed the development as a historic milestone reflecting fairness and political balance. A statement signed by former Minister of Sports Hon. Isa Bio Ibrahim expressed gratitude to both President Tinubu and Governor AbdulRazaq on behalf of Kwara North elders and community leaders.
President Tinubu is backing a candidate from Borgu Kingdom while holding the title Jagaban of Borgu, months after supporting power rotation to the region. Danladi-Salihu's emergence as the first ruling party governorship candidate from Borgu since 1999 gives ethnic lineage a central role in his political legitimacy. This alignment between symbolic recognition and political opportunity directly benefits Danladi-Salihu and reshapes Kwara's internal power dynamics. The presidency's embrace of this milestone frames regional identity as a currency in Nigeria's patronage politics.
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