AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq:
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, 63, is the incumbent gubernatorial candidate representing the All Progressives Congress (APC) party. He was born in Zaria in Kaduna State to the family of the first lawyer from Nigeria’s northern region, AGF AbdulRazaq. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq comes from Ilorin West Local Government, Kwara’s Central Senatorial District. Before entering the public sphere, he was an entrepreneur in the private sector and made history at 29 years of age when he founded NOPA Oil Services. NOPA Oil Services was the first indigenous company to trade in crude oil and petroleum products on the global markets, both import and export. Following his success in the oil industry AbdulRazaq ventured into other economic sectors such as agriculture, construction, and real estate. He consults for many multinational oil companies and governments, including Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire. As a successful businessman, he has ventured into many philanthropic activities, such as scholarship and vocational training for the youth, provision of potable water in remote areas, and donations to charities for the disabled. He entered politics in 1999 following Nigeria’s return to democracy. In 2011 he ran for governor under the CPC party and senator for Kwara Central Senatorial District under the PDP. He was unsuccessful on both bids. His political success came when he won the 2019 gubernatorial election under the APC. He now seeks re-election.
Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi:
Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi (SYA), 64, is the gubernatorial candidate representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). SYA was born in Ankurifun Shonga of Edu Local Government Area, Kwara State. During his educational career, he graduated as the valedictorian from Ahmadu Bello University and was hired immediately after as Assistant Secretary, Economic Relation Department of the Ministry of External Affairs in 1980. Later that same year, he changed careers and to SCOA Motor & SCOAGRI, a private company that deals in agriculture-related machinery and equipment. He succeeded in rising through the organisation where he later resigned as Deputy General Manager in 1988 to establish his own firm: Agromatrix Nigeria Limited. He has also served in various government-appointed positions such as Federal Commissioner, Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission and Chairman, of the Railway Reform Implementation Committee.
Hakeem Lawal:
Hakeem Lawal, 47, is the gubernatorial candidate representing the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He is the firstborn son of Rear Admiral and former governor of Ogun and Kwara states Mohammed Alabi Lawal. Hakeem pursued higher education abroad in the UK, graduating with a BA from the University of Portsmouth and a master’s degree in international finance from the University of Surrey. His early career began in the UK where he worked for many companies in the private sector such as Dudley Bowers Facility Management and MaxGalvin Consulting. He returned to Nigeria and founded his own company Heich and Heich in 2009. Hakeem eventually entered the public sector where he was chairman of the Finance Committee of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development from 2007-2011. He has previously run as governor, first in 2014 under the PDP and then again in 2018 under the APC. He also has philanthropic projects that vary from drilling bore-holes for potable water and procuring vehicles for mobile health care.
Sources
https://www.nairaland.com/7579194/profile-shuaibu-yaman-abdulahi-pdps
Read Impressive Profile of SDP Governorship Candidate in Kwara, Hakeem Lawal
