By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Some aspirants who lost in the recent senatorial primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across Kaduna State have rejected the outcome of the exercise, alleging widespread irregularities and demanding fresh elections.
The aggrieved aspirants, led by Danjuma La’ah, Mike Aura, and Yusuf Bala Ikara, on Tuesday stormed the Kaduna State Council Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) alongside supporters from the state’s three senatorial zones to protest the results.
The protesters alleged that the primaries conducted on May 18 violated both APC guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
According to the group, the APC National Working Committee had approved direct primaries for the exercise, but local party officials allegedly substituted the process with what they described as an unauthorised delegate-based system.
They also claimed that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not monitor the exercise and that ward-level polling centres and voting materials were not properly provided.
“In the purported primary election, Senator Sunday Marshall was illogically stated as the winner, where he was allocated a total of 7,534 purported votes cast by delegates,” the group alleged, questioning the credibility of the figures announced.
The aspirants cited Sections 84(2), 84(13), and 83 of the Electoral Act 2022, as well as Articles 20 and 30.3 of the APC Constitution, arguing that the conduct of the primaries breached both party rules and statutory provisions.
They called on the APC National Working Committee to cancel the exercise and conduct fresh direct primaries across Kaduna South, Kaduna North, and Kaduna Central under the supervision of the party’s national leadership.
Speaking with journalists, one of the aspirants said the group had already submitted petitions to relevant party and electoral authorities and would pursue legal action if their complaints were ignored.
“We are not against anyone. We are against a process that does not follow the law. We will remain in APC and correct this. This is our house,” the aspirant said.
The group disclosed that copies of their petitions had been forwarded to the APC National Working Committee, the party’s Appeal Committee, the Deputy National Chairman, the National Legal Adviser, the INEC Chairman, and the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kaduna State.
The protesters also insisted that their action was not directed against Governor Uba Sani, but against what they described as procedural violations during the primaries.
“We’re not against anyone. We’re not against Governor Uba Sani. But we want the process to follow procedure. Once it is done properly, nobody will have an issue,” one of the aspirants added.
The aggrieved aspirants further warned that they would continue to pursue all legal and constitutional channels, including lodging complaints with the police and the Department of State Services (DSS), if the party fails to address their grievances.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC had not issued an official response to the allegations.
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