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…Yilwatda dismisses allegations
Ahead of the conduct of fresh primary to nominate the party’s candidate for Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency, the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) Zamfara State chapter, has taken worrisome dimension following the petition, an aspirant, Hassan Umar Dangaladima, sent to two organs of the party: the National Executive Committee and the National Working Committee, accusing the party National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, of bias.
Dangaladima, in the petition, alleged that the APC national chairman unilaterally constituted the panel to conduct the fresh primary without recourse to the NWC which he superintends.
“Pursuant to the said court order, the National Chairman purported to nominate and approve a committee to conduct the rescheduled primary election. The said nomination was made unilaterally by the National Chairman: no meeting of the NWC was convened for that purpose; no quorum of the NWC deliberated upon or resolved on the composition of the committee; the nomination was never presented to, ratified or approved by the NWC or the NEC as required by the party’s Constitution; and neither the aspirants nor the Zamfara State Chapter nor other relevant stakeholders were consulted.
“The composition of the committee as announced raises a real and reasonable apprehension of bias: members of the committee are known loyalists, supporters and/or agents of a particular aspirant in the contest, namely Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji, thereby placing them in a position of manifest conflict of interest,” Dangaladima’s petition read.
The petitioner also alleged that his main rival for the ticket, Aminu Sani Jaji is not a card carrying member of the party, stressing: “Further and on a related note, the very aspirant the impugned committee is designed to favour, Aminu Sani Jaji, is not a registered member of the party: his name is not contained in the Register of Members of the APC for Birnin Magaji Ward submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as confirmed by the Certified True Copy of the said Register obtained from INEC (Exhibit A).”
“A formal demand to that effect was made on the party by letter dated 4th November, 2026 from Trinity Chambers (D.C. Enwelum, SAN), Solicitors in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/2026 — Hon. Hassan Umar v. Aminu Sani Jaji & 4 Ors. (Exhibit B). By Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act 2026, only members whose names are contained in the register of members shall be eligible to vote and be voted for in party primaries, congresses and conventions; the said aspirant is therefore ineligible to contest the court-ordered primary election,” he complained.
Dangaladima further argued that aspirants were deliberately kept in the dark by the APC national chairman, on the composition of the Election Committee, to achieve a pre-determined goal.
”The membership of the committee was never published in advance; aspirants were afforded no notice of its composition and no opportunity to object to members with conflicts of interest; and no screening or vetting mechanism whatsoever was applied to secure the impartiality and independence of the committee.
“The manner of the committee’s constitution violates the rules of natural justice (audi alteram partem and nemo judex in causa sua), the principle of internal democracy enshrined in the Party’s Constitution, the party’s guidelines for the conduct of primaries, and the Electoral Act, particularly the requirement of transparent, credible and INEC-monitored primaries,” he wrote.
The petition also urged the APC NEC to halt conduct of the fresh primary and ordered for a new set of individuals to conduct the primary.
He cautioned that proceeding with the team already constituted by the party national chairman would damage the ruling party electoral fortunes in the North West state in the forthcoming general elections.
“Unless urgently rescinded, the committee so constituted cannot conduct a free, fair, credible and acceptable primary; any outcome it produces will be a nullity in law, vulnerable to being set aside, and may expose the Party to the statutory sanction of exclusion of its candidate from the election altogether.
“Time is of the essence: the party is under a subsisting court order with a defined timeline, and any defective step taken under colour of that order will compound contempt exposure, intra-party litigation and irreparable damage to the Party’s fortunes and reputation in Zamfara State…”
“Those copies in the petition were the APC Deputy National Chairman ( North), the National Vice Chairman, North West; the party National Legal Adviser amd the Zamfara Chairman of the party.
Equally copied was the Director-General, Department of State Services (DSS);the Zamfara State Director, Department of State Services, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state amongst others.
Responding to the allegations raised in the petition, Yilwatda dismissed the allegation, describing it unfounded
Abimbola Tooki, media aide to the APC national chairman, in his response dismissed the petition as lacking substance, claiming that the decisions taken on party matters have never been taken by his principal, without recourse to the party national organ, the NWC.
He said: “The allegation is completely unfounded and does not reflect the established decision-making process of the APC.”
“The NWC has always operated as a collective decision-making body, with members working together, deliberating on issues and taking decisions in the overall interest of the party.
“It is therefore incorrect to suggest that the National Chairman, Yilwatda, takes unilateral decisions on matters concerning the activities and administration of the party, particularly on issues as important as the conduct of party primaries.
“The National Chairman does not operate in isolation. He works in consultation and collaboration with other members of the NWC, and decisions are taken collectively in accordance with the party’s constitution, established procedures and internal mechanisms,” he noted.
Yilwatda further maintained that there was no unilateral decisions regarding composition of the Election panel for the Kaura Namoda/ Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency.
“In this particular instance, the suggestion that the National Chairman single-handedly constituted the committee without the knowledge or involvement of the NWC is misleading. The party remains committed to respecting the rule of law, implementing court directives and ensuring that all party processes are conducted in a transparent, fair and credible manner.
“The APC is a democratic institution governed by rules and collective responsibility, not the personal preferences of any individual,” he noted.
