Politics

Who is who in battle for Ahmadu Bello Way Govt House, State Assembly in Kwara

 

By Mumini Abdulkareem

After the earlier postponement of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), come Saturday, candidates from across parties in the state in the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections will be on the ballot. But who are those contesting for the Ahmadu Bello Way Government House which is the most coveted seat in the state and positions in the Kwara State House of Assembly come this weekend and what are the particulars they are flaunting to secure the votes of Kwarans?
Governors

1.    Razak Atunwa (PDP): Razak Atunwa hails from Efue/Berikodo ward in Asa Local Government. He was born 17 October 1969 and a member, House of Representatives where he is Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary. He was the former speaker of the 7th legislature in Kwara State having earlier served in four ministries as commissioner for Finance, Land, Information and Home Affairs and Works and Transport. He is a London trained lawyer and was called to the Bar of England and Wales in October 1994 by the Inner Temple Inns of Court.

2.    Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (APC):  AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, the APC candidate is a billionaire businessman and oil magnate who hails from Idi-Igba in Ilorin West Local Government. He is the son of the first lawyer in Northern region of the country, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Folorusho Abdulrazaq. He contested for gubernatorial seat in 2011 on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) as well as Kwara Central Senatorial seat in 2015 under the PDP.

3.    Issa Aremu (LP): Issa Obalowu Aremu, 57, is the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, who was chosen at the primary poll held at the party’s Secretariat along Old Ajase-Ipo Road, Ilorin early September last year. A unionist and Labour leader, Aremu is the Vice President, Industrial Global Union and current General Secretary of Textile Workers Union. He is also a NEC member of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

4.    Ismail Adisa (Action Alliance): Ismail Abayomi Adisa was born in 1980 into the Family of the late Gen. Abdulkarim Adisa and Alhaja (Mrs.) Ramat Adisa. He is from Badari Ward in Ilorin West LGA of Kwara State. He attended Biodun Nursery and Primary School in the 80s, from where he proceeded to the Nigeria Military School, Zaria,from 1991 to 1997. He then proceeded to Bayero University, Kano, from where he went to University of Ilorin for his Master’s programme in International Relations. A real Estate Developer who is into oil and Gas with interest in farming and hotels.

5.    Issa Manzuma (African Democratic Congress): He is the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from Lafiagi in Edu Local Government and immediate past chairman of the Ilorin branch of the NBA. Manzuma had his first degree in law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1992. He attended Nigeria Law Sschool that same year and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1993. Afterwards, he served in Enugu, Enugu State in 1994. He however joined J.S Bamigboye & Co. in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital for his pupilage in 1994. He left his principal in 1997 to establish his own law firm; Issa Mazuma & Co. also in Ilorin. He is 56-years-old.

6. Abdulazeez Yinka Oniyangi (NPM): AbdulAzeez, 51, is the candidate of the NPM and a first degree and Masters holder. Although from Ilorin South, Oniyangi, a medical practitioner is Abuja based and President at Swift Air Ambulance Services Ltd. A graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he has sponsored many heath outreach programmes bringing medical organisations from UAE and Dubai into the country for health services to the masses.

7. Ayorinde Adedoyin (Accord Party): Ayorinde Adedoyin, the gubernatorial candidate of the Accord Party (A), was born in the early sixties and an astute and dynamic Business Administrator with over 30 years experiences in various businesses ranging from Oil & gas, Maritime, Automobile Sales/Repairs and Freight Services. From Agbamu in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Adedoyin is the son of industrialist, Dr Samuel Adedoyin and a sibling to late Funke Adedoyin, a former member of the House of Representative who moved to the PDP with Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki from the APC. This will be his first foray into politics.

8. Olajide Joseph Adebola (SDP): Born on 7th April, 1975 at Oke-Aba in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara South, Dr Olajide Joseph Adebola, the gubernatorial candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) is a medical graduate of University of Ilorin and became the first Nigerian to Join the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH), an international NGO with 88 countries and territories in 2005. An Associate Chartered Project Manager of International Academy of Management, Nigeria, he also holds a Master of Science in Global eHealth from the University of Edinburgh.

House of Assembly

1.    Asa (Afon I)
Aliyu Wahab Opakunle (APC)
He is from Ila ward in Asa Local Government Area and was a former Commissioner for Tertiary Education. He had also served as a member of the board of the Kwara State Road Maintenance Agency constituted by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in 2018 under the chairmanship of Lanre Aremu. He is a BSc holder and is 54-years-old.

Abimbola Adekola Olushola (PDP)
He is from Okeso ward and a Master’s degree holder. Abimbola Olushola is 58-years-old and was a former senatorial official in Asa Local Government before contesting the House of Assembly seat.

2.    Asa (Owode/Onire)
Ambali Olatunji Ibrahim (APC) 
52 years old, Ambali Ibrahim is from Ote-bala ward in Asa Local Government but based in Lagos. An HND and MBA holder, he was a former member of the Saraki dynasty but defected to the APC in the months leading to the last presidential/National Assembly elections.

Adebayo Ahmed Ayodele (PDP)
Popularly called Omi (Water) because of his stint as a former commissioner of Water Resources during the tenure of late Governor Muhammed Lawal. An MBA holder and 62 years of age, Adebayo Ayodele hailed from Alapa/Onire/Odegiwa ward in Asa.

3.    Baruten I (Ilesha/Gwanara)
Salihu Yakubu Danladi (APC)
At 33, Salihu Danladi is one of the youngest candidates and a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Minna in Niger State. He is an HND holder from Gwanara and has never held any post prior his House of Assembly contest.

Umar Mohammed Gunu (PDP) 
From Ilesaha/Gwanara, Umar Gunu is a 64-year-old PGD holder from Baruten and the Chief Whip of the 8th Legislature in Kwara State.

4.    Baruten II (Okuta/Yashikira)
Mohammed Baba Saliu (APC)
Mohammed Saliu is from Buyashia ward in Baruten Local Government and 47-years-old. He is based in Baruten and a SSCE holder who teaches at a community secondary school prior his emergence as the APC candidate.

Zakari Gunu Aliyu (PDP)
He is from Baruten and a first degree holder in Education. He is 59 years of age.

5.    Edu 
Ndamusa Mohummad Guyegi (APC)
Ndamusa Guyegi is a Lagos based business man and onetime party chairman in Edu under the zero party. He is 58 years old and from Lafiagi ward III otherwise called upland.

Haruna Mohammed (PDP)
Haruna Mohammed is a graduate of University of Ilorin and a retiree of the National Primary Health Institute, Abuja. He is 34 years old from Lafiagi ward IV known as the riverside because of the large water mass.

6.    Pategi
Ahmed Saidu Rufai (APC)
Ahmed Rufai is a first degree holder and 40-years-old from Pategi.

Mohammed Salihu Yahaya (PDP)
Yahaya, 32, hails from Lade ward in Pategi Local Government and Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State on Land Matters. A former teacher and Quantity Surveyor graduate of the Federal College of Technology, Minna before his emergence as the party’s House of Assembly candidate.

7.    Ekiti
Abolarin Ganiyu Gabriel (APC)
He is a former Supervisory Councillor for Health in Ekiti and an HND holder who hails from Isapa ward, he is 42 years old.

Tajudeen Lawal (PDP)
Lawal is a 52-year-old diploma holder from Opin ward in Ekiti Local Government Area. He was once the Director-General (DG) of the Ekiti Local Government Chairman Campaign team, Comrade Ayeni Yinka Dallas before he was appointed as a Senior Legislative Aide (SLA) to Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki. He is also the convener and the coordinator of Kwara South frontiers and loyal Sarakites.

8.    Oke-Ero 
Adetiba Olanrewaju Raphael (APC)
From Ekan ward in Oke-Ero, Raphael, 42, was a former member of the Saraki dynasty but crossed to the APC after his inability to secure the PDP’s ticket. He is also a first degree holder.

Bankole Alex Kehinde (PDP)
Also from Ekan ward, Kehinde, 39, is a BSc holder from the University of Ilorin where he led the Oke-Ero student union. Described as a greenhorn in political appointment, this is also the first time he would be contesting.

9.    Ifelodun I (Omupo/Igbaja)
Owolabi Olatunde Razaq (APC)
Razaq hails from Babaloma in Ifelodun Local Government. He is an ND holder and 42 years old.

AbdulRasaq Abiodun Lawal (PDP)
AbdulRasaq Lawal is a Kaduna-based businessman nicknamed ‘Bullet’ from Oko-Ode in Ifelodun local Government, Omupo district. He is said to be a grassrooter and very popular among the youth because of his numerous empowerment programmes, including school feeding programme he held last year. He has also been very supportive of candidates of the dynasty donating party souvenirs, materials and vehicles for party activities. He is 41 years old with an MBA.

10.    Ifelodun II (Share/Oke-Ode)
Salau Folabi Ganiyu (APC)
He is a lawyer and a former Sarakite from Falokun, in Idofian. He was the former council secretary during the CNC era and has been in private legal practice before his recent emergence as the party’s candidate

Jimoh AbdurRahman Akanni (PDP)
Akanni is a former teacher and ex-member of the Kwara State Road Maintenance Agency (KWARMA). Akanni, 61 had served as a former vice chairman of Ifelodun before he won the ticket to the House of Assembly in 2015 and appointed Chairman, House Committee on Local Government and Education respectively.

11.    Ilorin East
Jimoh Ali Yusuf (APC)
Yusuf is an HND holder and has not held any previous appointment before his nomination as the candidate of the APC.

Aisha Ibrahim Bodunrin (PDP)
Bodunrin, 53, is an NCE holder who hails from Oko-Ogun ward in Ilorin East local government. She represented her constituency in the 8th legislature and was again nominated as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the council.

12.    Ilorin South
Suleiman Shehu AbdusSalam (APC)
Suleiman Abdussalam is from Akanbi district in Ilorin South. An ND holder and 51 years of age, he has never held any appointment before now.

Jimoh Raheem Agboola (PDP)
Agboola, 50, is from Akanbi ward II in Ilorin South Local Government Area. He also has no previous appointment before he was nominated as the party’s House of Assembly candidate.

13.    Ilorin Central (Ilorin West I)
Mogaji Abubakar Olawoyin (APC)
Olawoyin is from Magaji Ngeri and a former aide to Senator Gbemisola Saraki before his nomination as House of Assembly contestant of the APC. He is 52 and a graduate of Kwara State Polytechnic who had served as an elected councillor of the ward.

      
Aishat Sulu-Gambari (PDP)
Princess Aishat is the daughter of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari. A Federal Civil Servant who works at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) from Magaji Ngeri ward in Ilorin West Local Government before her emergence as the PDP candidate for Ilorin Cetnral II. Hajia Aisha, 42, is a BSc graduate from the University of Maiduguri.

14.    Ilorin North West (Ilorin West II)
AbdulGafar Olayemi Ayinla (Ayilara) (APC)
He is a budding lawyer and just 29 years of age. Prior to his nomination as the party’s candidate, he has never held any previous appointment and one of the few greenhorns in the race.

AbdulRahman Majeed Oba (PDP)
Popularly called ‘Larry’ by admirers and party supporters from Alanamu, AbdurRahman Majeed Oba is just 30 according to his data with INEC and graduated from the University of Ilorin. He runs an NGO named The Olarewaju Oba Foundation to help the less privileged in the society and provide empowerment for the people. This is the first real political contest after he dropped his House of Representatives due to party’s internal arrangement. He organised the one-million man march for Saraki which brought youths of Kwara State residents in Ilorin and the Diaspora together.

15.    Irepodun
Awodiji Omotayo Felix (APC)
Felix is a Lagos based politician who hails from Ijan, Ijan/Esie ward in Irepodun Local Government Area. The 59-year-old is a loyalist of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed and led a protest last year calling on the APC leadership to dissolve a faction of the party in Kwara State over alleged anti-party activities.

Shamsudeen Bada (PDP)
Bada holds a degree in Education from the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti and was a former TIC vice chairman of Irepodun. He is just 38 and one of the beneficiaries of the not too young to run bill. He emerged as the party’s candidate to replace Hon Matthew Babaoye. A former youth leader of Irepodun LGA, Bada described as mobiliser, is the son of Alhaji Tajudeen Bada, who was the former chairman of Irepodun. He is also the Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara South Senator, Rafiu Ibrahim.

16.    Isin
Awolola Olumide Ayokunle (APC)
Ayokunle is 46-year-old and a former Deputy Speaker of Isin Local Government. An HND holder from Iwo/Isin, was famous in the council for the establishment of a computer centre in his ward. He is also a businessman.

Solomon Aboyeji (PDP)
Aboyeji was the first principal of Government Secondary School (GSS), Afon, in Asa Local Government before he retired. An MBA holder from Iwo ward and a former Chairman of the Kwara State chapter of ANCORPS, the retiree headed the committee on the creation of Isin in 1996 and a former PDP chairman of the council. He is 71 years old.

17.    Kaiama I (Gwanabe/Adena/Bani)
Ahmed Saidu Baba (APC)
Saidu Baba is from Bani and a Fulani man who was a former councillor during the CNC era in 1997-98. He was also supervisory councillor of the council in one of the TIC regimes in the state. He is 45 years old and a National Diploma holder.

Mohammed Baaziki Suleiman (PDP)
Suleiman Baaziki is from Gwaria in Kaiama Local Government Area. Before his election as lawmaker to the 8th Kwara State House of Assembly, he had served as Special Assistant, onetime councillor and a former Youth Empowerment Coordinator (YEC) for the council. He is 45 years old and seeking a return to the House as the PDP candidate.

18.    Kaiama II (Kaiama/Wajibe/Kemanji)
Abdullahi Halidu Dan Baba (APC)
Dan Baba hails from Kaiama ward III and was a former member of the dynasty who resigned his appointment as an SA to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed when Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, the Governor and others moved to PDP. He is 40 years and a first degree holder.

Ahmed Ibn Mohammed (PDP)
At 39, Ahmed Ibn Mohammed is one of the youngest lawmakers in the 8th legislature in Kwara State. From Wajibe ward in Kaiama Local Government, Mohammed is a farmer and a former local government secretary and Special Assistant. In the House, he is the chairman of the House Committee on Health and the party’s candidate for the house of Assembly.

19.    Moro I (Lanwa/Ejidongari)
Bello John Olanrewaju (APC)
Olanrewaju hails from Jebba and onetime councillor. He is a retired civil servant and teacher who had contested the House of Assembly seat on the platform of Labour Party before he got the APC ticket. He is 58 years old and an NCE holder.

Matthew Okedare (PDP)
Okedare, 56, is the Deputy Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly and one-time TIC chairman of the council. He was a teacher and a product of the famous Jebba Teacher’s College. He had his first Degree in Education and was a onetime Supervisory Councillor for Agriculture.

20.    Moro II (Oloru/Malete/Ipaye)
Babatunde AbdulKareem Paku (APC)
Paku is 52 years old and hails from Ipaye/Malete/Oloru district in Moro Local Government. A first degree holder, the former Supervisory Councillor had once contested the chairmanship position of the party in Moro.

       
Olanrewaju Bolanle Afusat (PDP)
Hajia Afusat is a first degree holder and hails from Ipaye/Malete/Oloru in Moro Local Government Area. He is 46 and a retired civil servant. She is also a onetime Special Adviser in the state.

21.    Offa I (Balogun/Ojomu)
Popoola Saheed (APC)
He hails from Ojomu Central B and contesting the House of Assembly seat for Ojomu/Balogun constituency of Offa Local Government. He was the secretary of the council (2006-07), a member of the Kwara Polytechnic Governing Council (2003-07), local government chairman (2010-13), former Commissioner for Sports and member of the 8th legislature in the state. Popoola, 47, attended the Ibadan campus of Della College of Education, Ekiti State with a BSc Political Science (in view).

  
Mubashir Jide Jatto (PDP)
Mubashir Jatto hails from Balogun/Ojomu in Offa and a former councillor. He had also served as Personal Assistant to one of the council chairmen and an HND holder from Kwara State Polytechnic. He has remained staunch member of the Saraki dynasty. He is 48years old.

22.    Offa II (Shawo/Essa)
Maryam Joy Adeniran (APC)
Maryam Joy Adeniran got into the list as a candidate in the race following a court order to replace Yusuf AbdulWaheed Ayinde Gbenga. Although she was elected a former speaker of the council, the election that brought her in was nullified by the court in 2013. She was a onetime SA in Kwara State before she resigned her appointment.

Folarin Oluwe Sikiru (PDP)
He hails from Essa/Sawo/Igbodun constituency in Offa and contesting to replace present House Leader, Hon Hassan Oyeleke. He is a former coordinator of the Clean and Green programme of the state government and a former Vice Chairman of Transition Implementation Committee (TIC), Offa. He is 48 years old and lecturer at the School of Health Technology, Offa.

23.    Oyun I (Odo-Ogun)
Yusuf Atoyebi Musa (APC)
Musa, 42, is an ND holder and a former supervisory councillor in Oyun. He is the son of the Oba of Ilemona and also a two-time councillor of his ward. He is 42-years-old.

Muideen Olaniyi Alalade (PDP)
He is a native of Ilemona in Oyun Local Government and had once worked as Commissioner II in the Kwara State Local Government Service Commission and a former Liaison Officer to the state government. Born November 29, 1967, he has HND and PGD in Public Administration and Business Administration from the Kwara State Polytechnic. Before contesting for the House of Assembly seat, he was former commissioner for Housing and Urban Development before he was moved to the Sports ministry.

24.    Oyun II (Oke-Ogun)
Ojo Olayiwola Oyebode (APC)
Before his emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Ojo Oyebode, 43, served as a former councillor from Ipee in Oyun Local Government.

Olaegbe Tijani (PDP)
Olaegbe Tijani hails from Igosun in Oyun Local Government and the present chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Described as a grassrooter, the 71-year-old was a former staff of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission with a Master’s degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the University of Jos after his first degree in International Relations from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

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