By Kwara Central Senator Saliu Mustapha has declared confidence that he will defeat Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq outright should the two face off for the Kwara Central senatorial seat in 2027, even as the Governor’s camp pushed back on separate allegations surrounding their political fallout.
“I Will Defeat Him Before Noon”
Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, August 21, barely a day after formally picking up the PDP’s senatorial ticket for the district following his exit from the APC, Mustapha was asked whether he could beat the governor in a direct contest. He predicted the outcome would be clear within hours of voting starting, saying he would defeat him well before midday.
The senator, who recently decamped from the APC to the PDP, framed his departure as a collective decision by members of the G15 political bloc rather than a personal one. He also alleged that AbdulRazaq had grown uneasy with his political popularity, suggesting this was a factor behind the strain between them.
Mustapha Denies One-Term Pledge, Calls Letter Forged
Mustapha used the appearance to reject a document circulating online, a purported letter dated May 21, 2022 and addressed to AbdulRazaq, in which he was said to have pledged loyalty to the governor and committed to serving only a single term in the Senate. He dismissed the document as fake, pointing out that his name was misspelt in it and insisting it did not match what he had actually signed.
According to Mustapha, the original letter he wrote at the time instead expressed his intention to pursue higher office, specifically the Kwara governorship, after serving one Senate term, which he said was why he contested for Senate rather than governor in the first place. He denied ever agreeing to a one-term limit with the governor, challenging him to swear to the claim on the Quran.
He further alleged that a figure he identified as “Dr Ghali” had approached him at the time over concerns about his rising popularity and a plan to reserve the Kwara Central Senate seat for a member of the AbdulRazaq family. Mustapha said he had been willing to accommodate that arrangement because his own ambitions were then focused on the governorship and that both sides had agreed to support each other. He alleged that the circulating letter was subsequently forged by the governor’s camp in an attempt to frustrate his political ambitions.
Governor’s Aide Rejects Rift Claims, Points Finger at Mustapha
Mustapha’s television appearance came hours after the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Communications, Ibraheem Abdullateef, issued a statement responding to a separate set of allegations made earlier by the senator’s Executive Assistant, Abdulkareem Alabi.
Abdullateef denied that AbdulRazaq had cut off communication with Mustapha following a reconciliation meeting convened by the Emir and the late Chief Imam, noting that the governor and senator had frequent interactions and had recently attended Eid prayers together, at Mustapha’s own invitation.
He also rejected claims that the governor had taken the APC governorship ticket from Mustapha or that the two men had reached an agreement to swap political positions. Abdullateef said it was President Bola Tinubu, not the governor, who denied Mustapha the governorship ticket after the senator allegedly misrepresented to the president that he had struck a position-swap agreement with AbdulRazaq. That misrepresentation, according to Abdullateef, prompted Tinubu to authorise the governor to select his own preferred candidate, a decision that produced Yakubu Danladi-Salihu as the APC’s governorship candidate.
Abdullateef added that when the Presidency contacted the governor to verify Mustapha’s claim of a position-swap meeting, AbdulRazaq denied that any such meeting or agreement had taken place.
Background
The exchange follows a rapid sequence of events this week, ranging from Mustapha’s resignation from the APC on August 14 (made public August 20), his same-week emergence as the PDP’s Kwara Central senatorial candidate, and the PDP’s subsequent statement attacking Governor AbdulRazaq’s leadership of the state APC. The dispute over the 2022 letter and the circumstances of Mustapha’s failed governorship bid add a new, more personal dimension to the unfolding rift between the senator and the governor ahead of 2027.
