The campaign council of former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly and Kaduna Central senatorial aspirant, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, has rejected the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election for Kaduna Central, insisting that “no primary election held” across the zone.
The council described the exercise held on Sunday as flawed, non-transparent and inconsistent with the guidelines of the party.
Addressing journalists after the disputed exercise, Deputy Director-General of the campaign, Hon. Cafra Caino, alleged that party officials failed to provide election materials or conduct voting in the seven local government areas of the zone.
According to him, party members and delegates waited for several hours at designated venues without seeing electoral officials or materials.
“Party faithful were at various ward and party offices for the exercise and after several hours of waiting in vain, there were no election materials in sight,” he said.
Caino maintained that the purported primary election did not meet the standards set by the APC National Working Committee, stressing that the process lacked transparency and credibility.
“The acclaimed primary election fell short of the standards stipulated by the APC National Working Committee,” he stated.
He added that the announced result for the Kaduna Central Senatorial District raised serious concerns over the integrity of the process.
“Consequently, the Right Honourable Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani Campaign Council unequivocally rejects the purported result announced for the Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone primary election.
“We do not recognize the outcome as a true reflection of the will of APC members in the zone,” he declared.
The campaign council called on the APC National Working Committee and the Kaduna State Electoral Committee to investigate the conduct of the exercise and order a fresh primary election in line with democratic principles and party guidelines.
“We demand a redress in the outcome of the primary election in line with party guidelines and democratic principles,” Caino said.
Despite the grievances, the campaign urged its supporters and APC members in the zone to remain peaceful and law-abiding while pursuing redress through internal party mechanisms.
“We urge all supporters of Right Honourable Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani and APC members in Kaduna Central to remain calm and law-abiding,” he said.
“The campaign council remains committed to internal democracy and will not stand by while the will of the people is subverted.”
The council, however, expressed appreciation to supporters for what it described as an overwhelming turnout and solidarity across Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Chikun and Kajuru local government areas.
According to the campaign, the support recorded during the exercise reaffirmed the strength of the movement and its connection with party members across the zone.
The APC had yet to officially respond to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
