Beyond the Moneybag Tag: A Case for Abdulfatai Yahaya Seriki
By Kayode Oyin-Zubair
Labels are easy in politics. “Moneybag” sticks fast. But if Kwara APC wants to build on substance and win in Ilorin and Kwara Central, it needs stakeholders who combine capacity, loyalty, and grassroots reach. On that score, Yahaya Seriki stands out.
He has delivered when it mattered. Yahaya Seriki served as Director General of APC’s elections in Kwara for both 2019 and 2023. That role is not ceremonial. It requires structure, discipline, and the ability to coordinate across wards and LGAs under pressure. Parties don’t give it twice to someone testing the waters.
He puts money where the state is. He is the only candidate with multimillion-dollar investments on ground in Kwara. Those investments create jobs, keep capital circulating locally, and give him a stake in the state’s success that goes beyond election cycles. It’s easy to talk development from outside. It’s different when your own businesses are tied to the state’s stability and growth.
Grassroots is his base, not his afterthought. The Yahaya Seriki Gambari Grassroots Mobilization for Peace and Development initiative is his vehicle to revolutionize grassroots development from the bottom up. It’s designed to work with traditional institutions, youth groups, and ward structures to address real needs—peace-building, skills, and small enterprise support. This is the “Amba” model: meet people where they are, solve problems that matter, and build loyalty that lasts.
Closer to the people than most Ward meetings, trader forums, student engagements, community events—he shows up consistently, not just at election time. In Ilorin West, East, South and Asa, party executives will tell you he picks up calls, attends meetings, and listens before acting. That proximity is why traders, artisans, okada riders, and women groups see him as accessible. You can’t fake that.
Thinking beyond politics: Security Trust Fund. His public engagement on the need for a credible, well-funded Security Trust Fund fits here. Security underpins every other development effort. Someone with real investments in the state has a direct interest in getting this right. It signals he’s not just contesting for office. He’s invested in making the state work for investors, traders, and farmers.
Resources alone don’t win elections. Networks do. Consistency does. Grassroots trust does. Yahaya Seriki has built all three. The “moneybag” tag flattens that reality. Look at the record, the presence, and the capacity.
If All Progressives Congress (APC) wants to win and govern effectively in Kwara State, Yahaya Seriki is the perfect fit.
Kayode Oyin-Zubair served as Senior Special Assistant to the Executive Governor of Kwara State on Community Intervention
No comments