Ilorin East chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has pulled its weight behind Mallam Saliu Mustapha ahead of the 2023 Kwara Central Senatorial election.
The Local Government Chairman of the party, Comrade Habib Lawal and his Vice-Chairman, Yahaya Zulkainil Kokewu-Kobere, in the presence of the 25 other executives of the party at the local chapter and 11 ward Chairmen, made this public during Mustapha’s ward-to-ward rounds, a consultation exercise with the constituents, on Tuesday.
The meeting was held at St. John Junior Secondary School, Maraba Area of Ilorin.
The endorsement may have effectively put paid to the permutations of the two other aspirants for the position for the votes of the local government.
The party chairman, who was flanked by his executive members and 11 wards chairmen from the local government, said although the two candidates vying for the position from the local government are imminently qualified, but it was important for the local government to approach the contest as a united front and Mustapha was their best bet to win both at the primaries and the general elections in 2023.
Habib further said that the local government would deliver their votes en bloc for Mustapha in order to increase his chances against the two other aspirants.
“Although the two candidates from the LGA are imminently qualified, but MSM is the one we believe should have a go at it for the reason that he’s the most popular of the three contestants and most likely to deliver most on his promises to the party, to the government and the people of the state,” he said.
Undoubtedly, the Kwara Central Senatorial election is one of the keenly contested polls in the state, as the three contestants for the position are frontline politicians and community development enthusiasts.
Other factors that will determine the winner include the ongoing agitations for a candidate from the Ilorin South/East federal constituency, which limits the chances of incumbent Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe from Ilorin West.
While APC members are still unsure of what mode the selection between Mustapha, Oloriegbe, and Seriki will take, there are high chances that the party members may choose their candidates by way of primary elections, which have been slated between Thursday and Friday.
