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The All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant for Zamfara North, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has called on the party’s national leadership to cancel its November 2 primary election in the district, alleging widespread irregularities and violations of electoral guidelines.
Shinkafi made the demand during a press briefing in Gusau, where he rejected the outcome of the exercise conducted across Birnin-Magaji, Shinkafi, Kaura Namoda and Zurmi Local Government Areas.
He accused those responsible for conducting the primary of manipulating the process, alleging that essential voting documents were missing from designated polling centres and that unauthorised result sheets were subsequently used.
According to the aspirant, original voting materials, official result sheets and APC membership registers were unavailable at several locations. He further alleged that photocopied result sheets were introduced at unauthorised venues after party members had left.
Shinkafi also questioned the credibility of the accreditation process, claiming that party membership cards and biometric voter identification were not properly verified, thereby preventing thousands of APC members from participating in the election.
He said changes to voting venues, conflicting schedules and poor communication further disrupted the exercise, leaving aspirants and their supporters uncertain about where and when voting would take place.
The aspirant also alleged that armed individuals and unauthorised security personnel took control of some voting and collation centres, intimidated party members and dispersed his supporters with gunshots.
He further accused individuals who were not officially appointed by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) of conducting the exercise and announcing results.
Shinkafi claimed that the results were compiled secretly at undisclosed locations without the involvement of his accredited agents. He also alleged that candidates’ representatives were not given copies of the results as required by the party’s guidelines.
He blamed the APC Senatorial Primary Election Committee deployed to Zamfara State for failing to supervise the process effectively, allowing unauthorised persons to take charge of the exercise.
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The aspirant also raised concerns over conflicting announcements regarding the outcome of the primary, saying two different individuals were declared winners.
According to him, the committee chairman announced Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u Kaura as the winner, while another member of the committee declared Senator Tijjani Yahaya Kaura.
Shinkafi also dismissed suggestions that he had reached a consensus arrangement with either of the two senators or any other aspirant ahead of the exercise.
He argued that the alleged breaches undermined the credibility of the primary and violated the APC’s electoral guidelines as well as provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
Consequently, he appealed to the APC National Chairman, the NWC and the party’s National Election Appeals Committee to invalidate the exercise and disregard the names of those declared winners.
He also urged the party leadership not to forward any of the disputed candidates’ names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for Zamfara North Senatorial District.
As an alternative, Shinkafi demanded a fresh direct primary across the four local government areas, to be organised by a properly constituted committee and monitored by INEC.
He further called for disciplinary measures against party officials and other individuals allegedly involved in compromising the exercise.
The aspirant said he was prepared to pursue the matter through legal channels if the party failed to address his complaints, including approaching a court of law over the emergence of Senators Sahabi Ya’u Kaura and Tijjani Yahaya Kaura.
He maintained that resolving the dispute in accordance with established rules was necessary to protect the party’s electoral process and uphold democratic principles in Zamfara North.
