The governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State was abruptly postponed on Thursday while voting was still ongoing across several wards in the state.
The development created confusion among party members and delegates, many of whom were still participating in the exercise when news of the postponement filtered in.
Politics Nigeria reports that the announcement was made by the state publicity secretary of the party, Abdulwaheed Babatunde, in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to the notice, the primary election earlier fixed for May 21 has now been rescheduled to Friday, May 22.
The party urged aspirants, delegates and members to take note of the new date and cooperate with the leadership of the party.
Despite the official explanation, the sudden suspension of the exercise sparked reactions within APC circles in the state, especially as voting had already commenced in several centres before the decision was announced.
Sources within the party said the development may not be unconnected with growing disagreements among some governorship aspirants following the endorsement of Ambassador Yahaya Seriki by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq earlier in the week.
The governor had publicly declared Seriki, an indigene of Kwara Central, as his preferred successor ahead of the 2027 governorship election. He, however, maintained that the endorsement would not stop other aspirants from contesting the primary election.
Party insiders said some aspirants and their supporters were unsettled by the governor’s position and had begun consultations over possible alliances before the sudden postponement of the exercise.
There were also indications that political stakeholders from Kwara South were making moves to rally support behind a consensus candidate from the district ahead of the rescheduled primary.
Before the exercise was halted, reports from several voting centres indicated that Seriki was already gaining momentum in parts of the state.
The postponement has further heightened tension within the ruling party as supporters of different aspirants continue to await the next line of action from the APC leadership in Kwara.
