Zamfara North: Shinkafi Alleges Gross Illegalities In APC Senatorial Primary, Demands Cancellation

An aspirant for Zamfara North Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi (Wamban Shinkafi), has petitioned the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party over alleged gross non-compliance and illegalities in the purported primary election held on November 2, 2026.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Shinkafi, who described himself as a frontline aspirant, said the exercise conducted across the four local government areas of the district – Birnin-Magaji, Shinkafi, Kaura-Namoda and Zurmi – was marred by irregularities and a total breakdown of statutory procedure.

According to him, rather than a transparent and credible exercise, what transpired was an orchestrated administrative ambush characterised by subversion of party guidelines and fabrication of phantom results.

He listed the grounds of non-compliance as: Non-availability of official voting materials: Original, serialised, and security-printed result sheets and official party registers were systematically withheld across wards, while unauthorised photocopied sheets surfaced at unauthorised locations after members had dispersed. This violates Section B(iii)k-L of the APC Guidelines for Direct and Consensus Primaries.

“Total absence of accreditation:* No accreditation took place as APC membership cards were not verified against the NWC-certified register, thereby disenfranchising thousands of party members, contrary to Sections B(i) and B(iii)f,g,h of the guidelines.
Short notice and communication blackout: The election management team created logistical confusion through conflicting timelines, unannounced venue alterations and an information blackout.
“Hijack by armed actors: Designated voting centres were allegedly besieged and hijacked by unauthorised armed state and non-state actors, including irregular security details and heavily armed soldiers. Shinkafi said his agents were intimidated and driven away with gunshots. This violates Section 96(5)&(6), Section 97(1), Section 132 and Section 27(3) of the Electoral Act, 2026.

“Usurpation by unauthorised collation officers: The primary was unlawfully supervised by self-appointed Local Government Collation Officers (LGCOs) never deployed by the NWC, in violation of Section C(iii) of the APC Guidelines.

“Covert collation outside official centres:* Results were clandestinely generated in private locations, excluding accredited agents, in violation of Section C(iii)(a-b) and Section C(vii)(d).
“Exclusion of agents: Agents were denied access and copies of result sheets, contrary to Sections B(iii)b and B(ii)a.

Shinkafi further cited Sections 84-88 of the Electoral Act, 2026, which stipulate that where a party fails to comply with the Act and its constitution, the candidate so produced shall not be included in the election.

He also said the exercise was marred by conflicting declarations, with the Chairman of the Committee, a retired military officer, declaring Sen. Sahabi the winner. In contrast, a member declared Sen. Tijjani Yahaya Kaura the winner.

He clarified that there was never any consensus arrangement between him and Sen. Tijjani or any aspirant.

Shinkafi therefore demanded immediate nullification of the purported primary across the four LGAs; setting aside of any purported nominee and refusal to transmit any name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC);

“Ordering a fresh, transparent direct primary across the four LGAs, monitored by INEC and conducted by an untainted panel appointed by the NWC; and
Sanction of errant actors who compromised the integrity of the party.”

He said if the demands are not honoured, he would seek redress in court.