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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Gov aspirant drags APC to court over Zamfara consensus candidate

From The Punch · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Sani Shinkafi, has sued the party and Senator Sahabi Ya’u over the alleged unlawful imposition of a consensus candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District.
  • Shinkafi claims he did not voluntarily withdraw from the race or endorse Ya’u, and accuses the APC of violating electoral laws and party guidelines.
  • The suit seeks to nullify the purported primary election and compel the APC to conduct a fresh primary for all cleared aspirants.

Dr Sani Shinkafi, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and an aspirant for the Zamfara North Senatorial District, has taken the party, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Senator Sahabi Ya’u to the Federal High Court in Gusau. Shinkafi alleges the unlawful imposition of a consensus candidate, claiming no valid agreement was reached among the cleared aspirants.

I purchased the APC expression of interest and nomination forms for Zamfara North Senatorial District and was issued a receipt in the sum of ₦20 million on 30th April 2026.

· Dr Sani ShinkafiDetailing his purchase of nomination forms for the senatorial race.

Filed by his counsel, Bello Idris Galadi, the suit challenges Ya’u's emergence as the APC consensus candidate. Shinkafi asserts that he neither withdrew from the race voluntarily nor endorsed any aspirant. He further accuses the APC of contravening provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, the party’s constitution, and its guidelines for direct and consensus primaries.

The plaintiff is seeking the court's interpretation of relevant sections of the Electoral Act 2026 to determine if the APC adhered to the law in producing Senator Ya’u. Shinkafi requests declarations that due process was not followed, that no valid consensus arrangement or direct primary occurred, and that the actions of the APC and Senator Ya’u undermine internal party democracy.

I submitted the completed forms and was screened by a committee set up by the party, which cleared three aspirants from Zamfara North Senatorial District to contest the primary election, namely, Hanafi Musa Moriki, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi and Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u.

· Dr Sani ShinkafiDescribing the screening process and cleared aspirants.

Shinkafi stated in an affidavit that he purchased the APC expression of interest and nomination forms for N20 million on April 30, 2026, and was subsequently screened. He maintains that three aspirants, including himself, Hanafi Moriki, and Sahabi Ya’u, were cleared for the primary. He insists there was no consensus among them and no written consent for his withdrawal or endorsement of another candidate.

There was no consensus amongst the cleared aspirants and no written consent from me indicating my voluntary withdrawal from the race. I also did not endorse any aspirant as the consensus candid

· Dr Sani ShinkafiAsserting the absence of a consensus agreement and his non-endorsement.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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