By Abubakar Yunusa
A former governorship candidate and aspirant for Zamfara North Senatorial District, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has petitioned the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, alleging his exclusion from the party’s senatorial primary election and the imposition of Senator Sahabi Alhaji Yau as the sole candidate for the district.
In a letter dated May 20, 2026, and addressed to the APC National Chairman, Shinkafi accused key political figures in Zamfara State of undermining internal democracy and violating provisions of the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.
He specifically alleged that the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, alongside former governors and other political leaders, orchestrated the emergence of Senator Yau without a transparent primary process.
Shinkafi urged the party leadership to intervene, describing the development as an act of “impunity, injustice and flagrant disregard” for the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and APC guidelines.
According to him, the alleged decision contradicted repeated assurances by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that candidates would emerge through democratic processes.
He claimed that during consultations ahead of the primaries, some political leaders informed aspirants that serving senators would be returned unopposed on the directive of the President.
“There was no meeting or consultation for this arbitrary order,” Shinkafi stated, adding that he neither withdrew from the race nor endorsed any consensus arrangement.
“I was never consulted or invited for any meeting on the so-called consensus arrangements. I did not withdraw from the senatorial race, did not write any letter that I stepped down and did not make any private or public statement that I withdrew from the primary,” he said.
The aspirant maintained that Sections 84 to 87 of the Electoral Act require political parties to conduct primaries or secure the written consent of all cleared aspirants before adopting consensus candidates.
He argued that no such consent was sought from him and insisted that the process violated the law.
Shinkafi further warned that the party risked repeating the mistakes that led to APC’s loss of all elective positions in Zamfara following the 2019 Supreme Court judgement that invalidated the party’s primaries in the state.
“The actions of these self-imposed godfathers in Zamfara State is political suicide,” he said.
He added, “This injustice shall not stand. I will challenge my exclusion from the Zamfara North Senatorial Primary in the court of law.”
