Tijjani Kaura wins APC primary in Zamfara amid violence

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared former senator Tijjani Kaura as the winner of its rerun primary for the Zamfara North Senatorial District. This follows incidents of violence at voting centres and issues with the published results.

Mr Kaura won against the sitting senator Sahabi Ya’u and former governorship candidate Sani Shinkafi in the election held on Monday. This election came after the Court of Appeal confirmed the cancellation of the party’s earlier primary.

Sani Abdullahi, the returning officer, announced the results in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State. He stated that Mr Kaura received 16,758 votes, while Mr Ya’u got 1,465 votes and Mr Shinkafi secured 1,447 votes.

Discrepancies in reported results

The vote totals released after the primary showed discrepancies. This comes weeks after a court annulled the party’s previous election due to irregularities. According to LEADERSHIP, Mr Abdullahi reported that 23,257 voters were registered, 19,608 were accredited, and 19,492 valid votes were counted.

However, the votes counted for the three candidates totaled 19,670. This number is 178 more than the valid votes reported and 62 more than the accredited voters. The newspaper did not explain these discrepancies. PREMIUM TIMES has not received the official result sheet to confirm if the figures were announced or reported incorrectly.

Violence disrupts voting

Monday’s primary faced disruption from suspected political thugs at two voting locations in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area. DAILY TRUST reported that thugs attacked the Namoda Model Primary School and the Galadima Dangaladima Ward polling unit near the Emir’s Palace. This forced voters and local residents to flee for safety.

The report also said that one person was seriously injured during a confrontation involving the suspected thugs. At the Namoda Model Primary School, Mannir Muhammad Haidara, the chairman of Kaura Namoda Local Government Council, narrowly escaped an attack in which his vehicle was damaged.

Another report from DAILY TRUST described how trouble started when Mr Haidara encouraged delegates to support the incumbent senator, Mr Ya’u. Supporters of Mr Kaura opposed this and accused the council chairman of bias. Some young people began throwing stones and other objects at the chairman until security personnel intervened and took him away.

DAILY TRUST mentioned that electoral officials had not arrived at some voting locations by 11:30 a.m., even though voters were already gathered. It is still unclear how many voters missed out because of these disruptions.

Reports also surfaced of a suspected bandit attack on police officers traveling along the Sokoto, Gusau road to provide security for the primary. The number of casualties has not been confirmed.

Earlier primary nullified

This rerun followed the cancellation of the APC’s earlier primary held on May 19. The Federal High Court in Gusau annulled it on August 31 and ordered a new primary after Sani Shinkafi filed a suit challenging the conduct of that election.

On October 20, the Court of Appeal in Sokoto dismissed Mr Ya’u’s appeal and supported the lower court's decision. The appellate court rejected Mr Ya’u’s challenge regarding the Federal High Court’s authority and confirmed the order for a fresh primary.

Mr Shinkafi had raised concerns about the previous election, alleging irregularities and failure to follow the party’s rules. Ahead of Monday’s rerun, he expressed worries about the preparations for the election.

On Sunday, he spoke in Gusau, mentioning he was not given enough notice about the election preparations and security measures. He also reached out to APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda for clarification.

Mr Shinkafi noted that Mr Ya’u had approached the Supreme Court over the appellate court’s ruling and that he had received the notice and records of the appeal. The current status of the Supreme Court case has not been confirmed.

Rival political camps

The two main candidates are linked to different political groups within the Zamfara APC. Mr Ya’u, who is the current senator for Zamfara North, is aligned with the camp of the Minister of State for Defence and former Zamfara governor, Bello Matawalle.

Mr Kaura, on the other hand, is connected to the camp of another former governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, who is the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. Both candidates come from Galadima Dangaladima Ward in Kaura Namoda.

Mr Kaura previously served as the senator for Zamfara North and was also the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs under former President Muhammadu Buhari. The positions of Mr Ya’u and Mr Shinkafi regarding the announced results have not been confirmed.