By Tunde Omolehin
Senator Sahabi Ya’u Kaura has emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections after winning the party’s fresh primary election conducted on Monday.
Ya’u polled 49,176 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Tijjani Yahaya Kaura, who secured 9,628 votes, while Abdullahi Sani Shinkafi came third with 6,206 votes.
The Chairman of the APC Zamfara North Senatorial Primary Election Committee, Dr. Auwal Abdullahi Aliyu, announced the results after the exercise, describing the election as credible and acceptable to all the aspirants.
Declaring Ya’u the winner, Aliyu said the senator had satisfied the requirements of the law and the party’s guidelines for the conduct of the primary election.
According to the results announced by the committee, Ya’u secured 21,689 votes in Kaura Namoda Local Council, 19,017 in Zurmi, 3,815 in Shinkafi and 4,655 in Birnin Magaji.
His closest challenger, Tijjani Yahaya Kaura, polled 6,586 votes in Kaura Namoda, 280 in Zurmi, 2,087 in Shinkafi and 675 in Birnin Magaji.
Similarly, Shinkafi secured 150 votes in Kaura Namoda, 386 in Zurmi, 1,208 in Shinkafi and 858 in Birnin Magaji Local Councils.
The fresh primary followed a legal dispute instituted by Shinkafi, an APC senatorial aspirant, against the party, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Senator Ya’u over alleged irregularities in the party’s earlier primary election for the senatorial district.
The Court of Appeal in Sokoto had ordered the conduct of a fresh primary, a decision accepted by the APC, which subsequently rescheduled the exercise.
