Sahabi Ya’u Wins Disputed APC Zamfara North Primary

Senator Sahabi Ya’u won the All Progressives Congress (APC) rerun senatorial primary for the Zamfara North Senatorial District on Monday night. Committee Chairman Dr. Auwal Abdullahi Aliyu announced in Gusau that Ya’u secured 49,176 votes, defeating Tijjani Yahaya Kaura, who received 9,628 votes, and Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who polled 2,602 votes.

The victory followed a day of conflicting reports and instability. Earlier on Monday, returning officer Sani Abdullahi had announced Tijjani Yahaya Kaura as the winner with 16,758 votes. Kaura later held a press conference in Kaura Namoda, claiming the committee chairman was abducted by anti-democratic elements and forced to announce Ya’u as the winner, asserting that his mandate cannot be stolen.

The rerun, ordered by the Court of Appeal in Sokoto after a previous primary was nullified for irregularities, was marred by violence. Suspected political thugs attacked polling units and the vehicle of council chairman Mannir Muhammad Haidara in the Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, while bandits reportedly attacked police personnel on the Sokoto–Gusau road. Following the final result, some APC supporters criticized former Governor Abdulaziz Yari, accusing him of fueling internal party divisions.