Atunwa, defeated another current member of the National Assembly and former Governor of Kwara state, Senator Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi at the gubernatorial primary that held on Monday at Banquet Hall, opposite Government House, Ilorin.
Barrister Razaq Atunwa and Senator Mohammed Sha’aba Lafiagi remained the only aspirants that competed at the party primary after nine other contestants in the race were said to have voluntarily withdrawn from the race.
Atuwa who was a former commissioner of various ministries in the state and former Speaker of the state House of Assembly polled 1,555 votes while Alhaji Sha’aba Lafiagi had 578 votes.

Total number of delegates that participated in the voting exercice were 2, 241 and there was record of 37 invalid votes.

Atunwa was a former Commissioner of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Information.

He was also the immediate past Speaker of the State of Assembly before occupying his present position at the federal house of representatives.
Atunwa is from Asa local government area of the state, one of the four local government areas under the Kwara Central.

In his speech Razaq Atunwa commended the Senate President Bukola Saraki for his steadfastness in the party as he also commended those who withdrew and those who conducted the delegates.
Atunwa who said Kwara state stand tall among all states in Nigeria due to leadership position by bukola Saraki added that they were one family because they love one another.

He also added that PDP would ensure that they deliver what they said in their electioneering campaign as they would also ensure that life continue to get better for ordinary citizens of Kwara State
The conduct of the PDP governorship primaries, which started on Sunday, was initially declared inconclusive when the process was disrupted by some hoodlums suspected to be hired political thugs .
 The state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, who explained that the nine aspirants withdrew from the race because of the party's interest, thanked them for their act of magnanimity.
The governor also thanked the state's political leader, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for his wise counseling and purposeful leadership which, he said, had kept members of the PDP united in the state.
Those that withdrew from the contest are Speaker, Kwara state House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad , Alhaji Saka Isau, SAN, Alhaji Ladi Hassan, Hon. Zakari Mohammed,  Hon. Ahman Pategi, Alhaji Mohammed Ajia Ibrahim, Prof. Sulaiman Abubakar and Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi.