Shagaya’s sweep at APC primaries: Implications for youth leadership and development in Kwara

By AbdulHakeem Salami

When the results of the All Progressives Congress House of Representatives primary election for the Ilorin West/Asa Federal Constituency trickled in on Saturday, May 16, 2026, they told a story far bigger than a routine party exercise.

Muktar Tolani Shagaya polled 77,625 votes to defeat three other aspirants, with his closest challenger, Yakub Amasa Yusuf, securing only 6,344 votes, while a total of 85,719 votes were cast across the constituency. That is a vote share of approximately 90.6%.

For a 36-year-old lawmaker seeking his second term, the scale of that victory is not merely a political statistic. It is a referendum on a generation’s capacity to lead, and a signal that youth-driven governance is finding roots in the Kwara political soil.

Muktar Tolani Shagaya is a 36 years old, a young man by any standard in a Nigerian political landscape where the average legislator is well into their fifties. He holds a B.Sc in International Relations from the University of Plymouth and a Master of Arts degree in International Development and Development Management from the University of Manchester, UK.

Before entering politics, Shagaya served as an Energy Executive at the Rural Electrification Agency, was Executive Director of Asolar Systems Nigeria Limited, and held the role of Business Development Manager at Karmod Nigeria Prefabricated Technologies. This professional background gives his legislative agenda a credibility that many career politicians lack.

Shagaya’s victory comes at a moment when conversations about youth inclusion in Kwara’s political future have never been louder. A group of young professionals under the aegis of Kwara Youth Advocate recently called on the APC leadership in the state to consider youthful candidacy, competence, and grassroots connection in electing the party’s flagbearer for the governorship seat in 2027, with the convener arguing that Nigerian youths must become active participants in shaping the nation’s political landscape.

That call echoes a national concern. The entrenched elite act as gatekeepers in Nigerian politics, marginalising young and competent candidates, with the APC’s flagbearer reinforcing the systemic exclusion of young aspirants to contest for office.

President Tinubu himself made youth inclusion a specific appeal ahead of the primaries, urging voters and leaders at all levels to give special consideration to women and youth in the contest. In Ilorin West/Asa, that appeal found its most tangible expression in the Shagaya outcome.

The most concrete test of whether a young legislator is producing value is the quality of their legislative output. Shagaya passes this test with a record that is both broad and targeted. Since assuming office, he has sponsored over 15 bills and co-sponsored several others.

Among his bills is one for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Afon, Kwara State; a bill to increase the Consolidated Revenue Fund allocation to the Universal Basic Education Fund from 2% to 4%; and a bill to extend free, compulsory universal basic education up to senior secondary level.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow The Lagos Voice on WhatsApp channel for latest updates

Education and healthcare are the two pillars on which any meaningful youth development agenda must stand. A young legislator choosing to anchor his portfolio on UBE funding reform and medical infrastructure is making a deliberate generational argument: that the state’s children and youth deserve the structural support of law, not just the seasonal charity of empowerment giveaways.

He serves as Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Services, a position that gives him direct institutional influence over federal education policy.

What separates Shagaya’s record from many of his peers is the visible translation of legislative commitment into community-level impact. His achievements include the massive construction and renovation of public schools within Ilorin West/Asa Federal Constituency, and he is partnering with international donors to construct state-of-the-art healthcare facilities in each district of the constituency.

He has also prioritised the construction of rural roads to ensure easy movement, especially by farmers transporting goods to markets, and has provided national and international scholarships to students of tertiary institutions.

Shagaya’s 77,625 votes against a combined opposition of barely 8,000 tells us something important about Kwara’s grassroots political dynamics. It suggests that when a young politician actually delivers, the electorate responds, not with gratitude but with loyalty.

He won with landslide victory with the popular votes and mandate of his people, and so far has not disappointed in his second term in the House, as a qualitative representative who enjoys reciprocal benevolence and prosperity from his people.