Saraki loyalist and former sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi to run for Kwara State governor

FORMER sports minister and a key loyalist of senate president senator Bukola Saraki Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi is to run for Kwara State governor at the next election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Like Senator Saraki, Mallam Abdullahi was a member of the PDP who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 and on August 1 this year, he returned. Considered a close confidant of Senator Saraki, Mallam Abdullahi served as sports minister under President Goodluck Jonathan and following his defection to the APC, he was elected as the party's national publicity secretary.

During the recent Sallah celebrations in Ilorin, Mallam Abdullahi announced that he would be running for governor in February next year.  He is likely get the PDP ticket considering his closeness to Senator Saraki, the leader of the party in the state.

Incumbent Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has served his maximum two terms and will be standing down in February. Governor Ahmed is also a Saraki loyalist and is likely to back Mallam Abdullahi, who is currently the head of the media and publicity committee of the newly formed Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).

He was recently appointed spokesman of the coalition seeking to defeat his former party and President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. Inaugurated on August 6 in Abuja, the committee has Kazeem Afegbua and Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP spokesman, among its members.