By AMINU DALHATU; Editing by BASIRAT MEMUDU
A senatorial aspirant in Zamfara North, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi has filed a suit against the All Progressives Congress-APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission-INEC, challenging the outcome of the party’s recent primary election.
The suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Gusau, challenging the legitimacy of the APC primary recently which produced Senator Sahabiya Yau Kaura as the party’s candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District.
Counsel to the plaintiff, Bello Galadi, told journalists shortly after instituting the case that his client was dissatisfied with the conduct of the primary processes, which he described as contrary to electoral guidelines.
Galadi argued that, the APC failed to comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, particularly Section 84, which stipulates that, political parties must adopt either the consensus method or conduct a valid primary election in selecting candidates.
According to him, all the conditions required for a consensus arrangement were not met and further alleged that, no valid primary election was conducted after the failure to reach consensus.
“Our major concern is that, there was neither a lawful consensus nor a properly conducted primary election,” he said.
The plaintiff is therefore asking the court to nullify the outcome of the primary and review all evidence presented before it.
Galadi expressed optimism that the court would deliver justice, noting that the judiciary would carefully weigh the facts and determine the merit of the case.
“We are confident that the court will examine our claims and ensure that justice is done,” he added.
Also speaking, Dr Shinkafi said he approached the Federal High Court of Nigeria to challenge what he alleged as an “undemocratic affirmation” of Senator Sahabi Kaura as the party’s candidate.
He argued that, the conditions required for adopting a consensus candidate such as voluntary withdrawal and written consent by other aspirants were not met in the Zamfara North case.
“At no point did I withdraw from the race or give written consent endorsing another candidate,” he said, insisting that the process leading to the emergence of the candidate was flawed.
Dr Abdullahi Shinkafi further alleged that, no valid primary election was conducted, noting that there was no accreditation of voters, no verification process, and no presence of electoral officials, observers, or journalists during the purported exercise.
He also accused some party stakeholders of undermining democratic principles by allegedly pushing for the automatic return of certain National Assembly members without primaries, contrary to the party’s stated commitment to transparent elections.
The aspirant explained that he had earlier explored internal party mechanisms to seek redress, including appealing to the party’s screening and appeal committees, but received no satisfactory response.
“I was duly screened and cleared to contest. I submitted my appeal through the appropriate channels, including to the appeal panel and party leadership, but there was no response,” he said.
Having exhausted internal remedies, Shinkafi said he was left with no option but to seek judicial intervention.
He urged the court to nullify the outcome of the process and uphold the rule of law, expressing confidence that justice would be served.
