A chieftain and governorship aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Professor Wale Sulaiman, has dismissed speculations surrounding the emergence of a consensus candidate ahead of the 2027 governorship election in the state.

Sulaiman stated this on Thursday during his official declaration for his governorship ambition in Ilorin, the state capital, insisting that the process for choosing the party's candidate remained open and constitutionally guided.

The APC stalwart, who formally joined the growing list of aspirants seeking to succeed Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said reports of endorsement or zoning arrangements in favour of any aspirant should be disregarded.

He said, "I want to let the public know that no consensus candidate has been chosen. The process of choosing a candidate is very clearly defined in the constitution of our great party and in the Electoral Act.

"For there to be a consensus candidate, all the aspirants must sign an undertaking that they are stepping down. Not just that, they must endorse the consensus candidate. If otherwise, direct primaries is the remaining option.

"Every other thing that you're hearing outside is just rumour. I trust the leadership of the party to follow the constitution of APC. We are not law breakers. We abide by the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"No consensus candidate has been chosen. All rumours about zoning and endorsement should be disregarded."

Speaking further at the event, Sulaiman praised the AbdulRazaq administration and the 2019 "Otoge" political movement which ended the long dominance of the opposition in the state.

He stated, "I thank His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for proving us right in 2019 when we did 'Otoge', that Kwara needed to go in a different direction.

"I know some of you may not be feeling it, but indeed, I was part of that administration and Kwara is better because APC took over and the party is here to stay and will continue to lead the state to greater heights."

The governorship aspirant described himself as the "forerunner" in the race and pledged to sustain the developmental strides of the current administration if elected governor.

Also speaking at the event, a former Commissioner for Water Resources in the state, Khaleed Bolaji, described Sulaiman as the preferred choice of his supporters to continue the APC government in the state.

The declaration comes amid mounting political permutations within the Kwara APC ahead of the 2027 elections, with several aspirants and interest groups already mobilising across the three senatorial districts of the state.

Recent endorsements by political groups and stakeholders have intensified conversations around possible succession arrangements within the ruling party.

While some blocs have backed Senator Saliu Mustapha for the governorship seat, others have openly rallied support for businessman Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki.

The build-up to the election has exposed growing contestations within the APC over zoning, succession politics and power balancing among Kwara Central, Kwara North and Kwara South senatorial districts.

Some stakeholders from Kwara North have continued to push for power shift to the zone in 2027, citing earlier political understandings within the party, while others insist competence rather than zoning should determine the next governor.