Surprise As Bukola Saraki Emerges Kwara PDP Senatorial Ticket

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 29, (THEWILL) - The Kwara State Governor, Dr Bukola Saraki at the weekend emerged winner of the Kwara Central Senatorial re-run primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the April general election, held at Ansarul-Islam Primary School, Okekere, Ilorin, a statement from Mas’ud Adebimpe, Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor said today.

Dr Saraki’s bid for a Senate seat is coming as a surprise to analysts because he had earlier declared his interest to contest the Presidency and when the bid failed he did not announce his interest in a Senate seat until a few hours to the rerun.

His emergence the statement said followed the withdrawal of Alhaji Isiaka Gold from the race, who had earlier defeated Alhaji L.A.K Jimoh to clinch the PDP ticket for Kwara Central Senatorial District.

Dr Saraki, who polled 1,024 votes out of a total of 1,105 delegates comprising Asa, Ilorin West, East and South Local Government Councils, defeated two other aspirants, Mallam Yunus Abdulrahman and Alhaji L.A.K. Jimoh, who scored 13 and 7 votes respectively.

Earlier, the leader of the five-man Electoral Committee and the Returning Officer for the re-run election, Hon. Anayo Nnebe had urged the delegates to make the primary election a hitch-free exercise.

At the end of the election, Dr Saraki was declared duly elected by Hon. Nnebe having won majority of the total votes cast. He also expressed appreciation on behalf of his committee to the delegates for conducting themselves orderly and peacefully.

In his acceptance speech, Dr Saraki thanked the delegates for the honour done him and assured that he would live up to expectation by serving his people and the constituency diligently and the State as well.

Dr Saraki specifically used the opportunity to appeal to those who have not registered to make use of the one week extension period to get registered so that opportunity to elect candidates of their choice would not elude them.

Also speaking, the first runner up, Mallam Yunus Abdulrahman expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the re-run primaries and promised to work for the success of the party at the April election.

The PDP in Kwara is expected to face stiff opposition from two main parties in the state; Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), a party founded by the strongman of Kwara politics and father of the governor, Dr Olusola Abubakar Saraki and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).