The defection of Senator Salihu Mustapha from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has injected a fresh contest into the 2027 Kwara Central senatorial race, with the opposition immediately handing its new entrant the ticket and the ruling party moving to dispel fears of losing its grip on the district.
Mustapha, the incumbent senator for Kwara Central, was unveiled as the PDP’s senatorial candidate on Wednesday in Ilorin, only days after he quit the APC following its May 2026 primary election.
The PDP State Chairman, Isa Adamu, disclosed that the party had granted Mustapha a waiver to contest the National Assembly election under its platform.
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Presenting the party’s flag to the senator, Adamu said the decision had received the backing of the party leadership.
“By the grace of God, you have been granted a waiver to contest the 2027 National Assembly election under the banner of PDP,” he said.
Adamu described Mustapha as the party’s candidate for the district and formally presented him on behalf of the PDP National Leader, Senator Bukola Saraki, and members of the State Working Committee.
Mustapha promises battle for PDP
The senator, who built his political career within the APC before his recent departure, pledged to work with PDP members to secure victory at the poll.
He thanked the opposition party for the reception accorded him and expressed confidence that the party would celebrate an electoral triumph after the election.
“I want to take this opportunity to assure and guarantee you that we shall work tirelessly together to make sure we deliver victory for the party,” Mustapha said.
He added that his immediate engagement with the PDP was intended to familiarise himself and his supporters with members of the party while assuring its leadership of their readiness to work for victory.
His defection places an incumbent senator with an established constituency directly against the political machinery that previously backed his election.
Mustapha won the Kwara Central seat under the APC in 2023 and has since represented the district at the National Assembly. His decision to switch platforms therefore gives the 2027 contest an unusual dimension. Now both the senator and the party that helped elect him are positioned on opposite sides.
APC plays down impact
The APC has, however, rejected suggestions that Mustapha’s exit could weaken its standing in Kwara Central.
The party’s position was reinforced by its ward-level leadership and community stakeholders, who separately declared their allegiance to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the APC’s governorship candidate, Salihu Yakubu Danladi.
Baba Gobir Abdullahi, chairman of the 193 APC ward chairmen in Kwara State, said the 51 ward chairmen in Kwara Central still backed the governor and dismissed the senator’s departure as a personal political decision.
Abdullahi described the ward structure as the “engine room” of the APC’s grassroots operation in the district. He said Mustapha’s 2023 victory could not be credited to the senator alone because the APC machinery, the governor, and grassroots members all contributed to the result.
He consequently sought to separate the senator’s defection from the political preferences of voters across the district.
“Do not be distracted by the political tourism of individuals who prioritise their personal comfort over your collective progress. APC remains the only party that puts the welfare of the ordinary ‘Kwarans’ at the centre of governance,” Abdullahi said.
Stakeholders cite projects
Ibrahim Sulyman Salah, a councillor representing Gambari Ward I in Ilorin East Local Government, spoke for stakeholders from Mustapha’s home ward and other communities in Kwara Central.
Rather than treating the senator’s defection as the defining issue, Salah directed attention to projects and social interventions credited to the AbdulRazaq administration.
“We are not here because of politics. We are here because the dividends of democracy are now visible, measurable and touching the lives of ordinary Kwarans,” he said.
Salah cited road construction, urban renewal, healthcare, education, and economic empowerment as areas where he said the administration had recorded progress.
He claimed that 113.57 kilometres of roads had been completed in Kwara Central, with another 65.5 kilometres under construction.
The stakeholder subsequently declared confidence in AbdulRazaq and called for the completion of ongoing projects as well as further empowerment programmes targeting youths and women.
The competing reactions expose the central question that will shape the Kwara Central contest: whether Mustapha’s personal political network can translate into a meaningful advantage for the PDP, or whether the APC’s ward structure and support for the state government can withstand the loss of one of its prominent elected figures.
As it stands now, the two camps are sending markedly different messages. Mustapha is presenting his defection as the beginning of a collective push for PDP victory, while the APC is seeking to portray his departure as an individual decision with limited consequences for its grassroots strength.
