The former Senate President and two-term Governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki, has announced that he won't contest any political position in the 2027 general elections.
Saraki made the revelation on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he noted that he would neither run for the presidency nor return to the Senate.
“No, I’m not… I’m not contesting the election,” he stated.
Addressing his recent criticisms of the Kwara State government’s handling of security, Saraki noted that his renewed involvement is motivated by a sense of duty toward the citizens and a concern over governance.
“It’s not that I want to win Kwara by all means. It’s been a focus that I’ve been closer to the people over the last few years. I’ve not been in government, and I’ve seen the pain they’ve gone through.
“I’ve seen the mistakes they’ve made. I’ve seen the fact that they haven’t got the kind of government they expected and the hardship they’ve gone through, the insecurity they’ve gone through,” he added.
Similarly, he affirmed that, as a political leader, he felt obligated to support efforts to enhance governance in the state through the Peoples Democratic Party.
“As a responsible person, leader… I hold it as my responsibility to do my best to see that they have the best type of governance, which I believe that PDP, through our candidates, can provide for,” he said.
Concerning the insecurity in Kwara State, Saraki condemned the current situation, attributing it to lapses in governance rather than evolving social trends.
The former statesman said, “I believe that based on the period when I was the governor, this situation was not like this.”
He asserted that the activities of bandits in the state were due to failure to maintain a high level of security watchfulness.
“Most of those bandits have looked at places of least resistance and less guarded and found Kwara that place available because the government just kept their eye off the ball,” he said.
