INEC releases final list of candidates for Kwara National Assembly elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced the final list of candidates for the 2027 National Assembly elections in Kwara State. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Senator Saliu Mustapha are listed for the Kwara Central senatorial seat. Kolo Baba Jiya is the candidate for Kwara North. This announcement comes amid controversies over the selection of the two Peoples Democratic Party candidates.

The list was published on INEC’s website on Saturday. It includes candidates from 13 political parties running for the Kwara Central senatorial seat, 11 for Kwara North, and 11 for Kwara South.

The publication occurs during a time of political changes ahead of the 2027 elections. Mustapha recently moved from the All Progressives Congress to the PDP after losing the APC governorship ticket. There is also a legal challenge regarding Baba Jiya’s selection as the opposition party’s candidate in Kwara North.

In Kwara Central, Mustapha is the current senator. He is now the PDP candidate against AbdulRazaq of the APC. AbdulRazaq is seeking a Senate seat as his time as governor ends in 2027.

Mustapha's candidacy came after he switched from the APC in August. He lost the party’s governorship primary to Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, and did not secure the APC senatorial ticket.

He obtained the PDP ticket through a substitution process. This sets up a contest with AbdulRazaq. Their political disagreements have been a big topic in the APC's internal matters in the state.

Mustapha explained why he left the APC. He said the party’s leadership in Kwara had strayed from internal democracy and collective participation.

“However, recent developments within the APC in our State, particularly the leadership of the Party in Kwara State, have departed from the founding core principles of collective unity and internal democracy on which the APC was built,” he said in his resignation letter.

“I have not dumped President Tinubu. Like the Honourable Minister of FCT said, this Rainbow Coalition has extended to Kwara too,” Mustapha said in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He said choosing the PDP was not just about him. It involved a coalition of different political groups, not just his own interests.

“That is why it was deliberate to pick the PDP as our platform. It is not just Senator Saliu Mustapha. It is as a result of the coalition of the Otoge Progressives, the G15 and the Elder Caucus,” he said.

Mustapha also criticized the APC governorship primary, raising questions about how the results were collected and announced. His claims reflect how he feels about the APC primary. INEC naming him on the final list shows he is the PDP candidate for Kwara Central but does not resolve the allegations against the ruling party’s process.

In Kwara North, Baba Jiya is listed as the PDP candidate. This comes despite a legal challenge from Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu, a former Commissioner for Works and Transport. Iliasu claims he won the PDP senatorial primary on May 20, 2026, and that INEC had originally published his name on August 1.

According to a report from Ilorin.info on September 13, Iliasu is challenging the later appearance of Baba Jiya’s name, saying it was done unlawfully.

The case, marked FHC/IL/CS/136/2026, includes INEC, the PDP, and Baba Jiya as respondents. Iliasu wants the court to declare the substitution invalid. He also seeks to be recognized as the party’s nominee and wants INEC to stop recognizing Baba Jiya.

The legal challenge focuses on whether the PDP can legally replace Iliasu with Baba Jiya. Iliasu claims he did not withdraw his candidacy or agree to the substitution.

These claims have not been proven in court, and Baba Jiya’s name on the final list does not decide the lawsuit's outcome. On September 30, CK Media Affairs reported that the Federal High Court allowed for court documents to be served to Baba Jiya.

This order was about how to serve the court papers and did not resolve the main issue of the PDP’s nomination. The Kwara North list also includes Mahmud Umar Muhammad of the APC, Saliu Muritala A. of Accord, Ibrahim Ejiko Mohammed of Action Alliance, and others.

In Kwara Central, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahaman is listed for the APC, while Mustapha Saliu is the PDP candidate. Other candidates include Musa Aliyu of Accord and Adesola Kehinde of Action Alliance, among others.

In Kwara North, Jiya Kollo, also known as Kolo Baba Jiya, is the PDP candidate, while Mahmud Umar Muhammad is from the APC. The list includes several other candidates from various parties.

In Kwara South, Adewoye Olalekan is the APC candidate, and Popoola Saheed is the PDP candidate. The list has many other candidates from different parties.

This publication gives details of candidates for the three Kwara senatorial districts. The Kwara Central race has the sitting governor and incumbent senator from different parties. The Kwara North contest still has disputes over the PDP’s nomination.