Competing declarations named different winners in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate primary rerun in Nigeria’s Zamfara North district, leaving the result contested ahead of the 2027 election.
Primary committee chair Auwal Abdullahi Aliyu declared incumbent Sen. Sahabi Ya’u Kaura the winner after announcing 49,176 votes for him and 9,628 for aspirant Tijjani Yahaya Kaura, BusinessDay reported.
Leadership reported that returning officer Sani Abdullahi made a separate declaration naming Tijjani Yahaya Kaura the winner with 16,758 votes. An earlier EconoTimes examination of that tally found that its reported candidate totals exceeded the stated valid-ballot count by 178.
The rerun followed a challenge to the party’s earlier primary. BusinessDay identified aspirant Abdullahi Sani Shinkafi as the challenger and said he alleged irregularities. The Court of Appeal in Sokoto dismissed Ya’u’s appeal against the rerun order on Oct. 20.
A candidate list published before the rerun by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) names “YA'U SAHABI ALHAJI” for the APC in Zamfara North. INEC schedules the National Assembly election for Jan. 16, 2027.
