2027: Kwara APC picks House of Assembly member as Deputy Governorship Candidate

A member of the Kwara State House of Assembly representing the Ojomu-Balogun Offa State Constituency, Hon. Seun Ogunniyi Adato, has been picked as the All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Adato, who is also the APC candidate for the same Ojomu-Balogun seat for the 2027 election, is said to have scaled through intense lobbying and political calculations that edged out two other major contenders whose names had dominated speculations in recent weeks.

It was learned that Kwara APC Chairman Prince Sunday Fagbemi, who had been rumored to be eyeing the deputy governorship slot, as well as the Chairperson of the State Revenue Service (KWIRS), Shade Omoniyi whose name was widely circulated a few weeks ago as the anointed deputy have lost out in the race.

A source within the state APC confirmed that the choice of Adato is a strategic move to balance the political deficit created by the APC in Offa and the entire Kwara South Senatorial District.

It was further gathered that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has held consultations with a few influential elites from Offa on the possibility of ceding the deputy governorship position to the town, a move aimed at consolidating the party’s strength in the federal constituency and dousing tension ahead of 2027.

Adato, a first-term lawmaker and one of the most visible grassroots politicians from Offa, is believed to have a good relationship with APC gubernatorial candidate Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, the current speaker of the state assembly, where Adato is also a member.

Adato’s main challenger during the House of Assembly primaries for the Ojomu-Balogun Constituency, Giwa Musemilu Kehinde, will now replace him as the candidate for the state assembly elections in next year’s polls.

This arrangement, according to party sources, is to ensure cohesion within the party in Offa and avoid an internal crisis that could arise from his elevation.

While the official announcement is still being awaited from the party leadership and the governorship candidate, multiple sources said that the decision has been sealed and would soon be made public.

However, efforts to confirm the development from the state APC leadership and Hon. Seun Ogunniyi Adato proved abortive as their lines could not be reached.