Former Kwara State governor and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Bukola Saraki, has announced Engr. Kale Kawu as the consensus candidate of the party for the forthcoming governorship election.

Saraki made the announcement in a post shared via his X handle on Saturday.

“I am pleased to announce that, after extensive consultations with stakeholders of the Kwara PDP and our leading gubernatorial aspirants, we have arrived at a consensus candidate to fly the flag of our great party in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.

“That candidate is Engr. Kale Kawu,” he wrote.

The former Senate President expressed appreciation to other governorship aspirants who agreed to step down in support of the consensus arrangement, describing their action as a demonstration of unity and sacrifice.

“I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the other aspirants who, in the supreme interest of our party and state, have graciously stepped down to support this consensus. It is this spirit of unity and selflessness that will carry us to victory,” Saraki added.

He also wished party members, delegates and supporters a peaceful and successful outing at the governorship primaries scheduled for Sunday.

The development comes weeks after five governorship aspirants of the PDP in Kwara agreed to adopt a consensus arrangement as part of efforts to maintain party cohesion and avoid internal divisions ahead of the election. The aspirants had earlier pledged to support whoever emerged as the party’s flagbearer.

Engr. Kale Kawu was among the aspirants who previously endorsed the consensus process and had indicated readiness to abide by the decision of the party leadership.