On the crisis within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State worsened on Wednesday as former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, former senator Danjuma Laah, and other dissatisfied aspirants rejected the outcome of the party’s senatorial primaries, insisting that no legitimate election was held across the state.
The disagreement has further exposed divisions within the Kaduna APC ahead of the 2027 general elections, with aggrieved members taking to the streets in protest across parts of Kaduna metropolis.
Zailani, who contested for the Kaduna Central Senatorial ticket, described the exercise as fraudulent, alleging that party members across the seven local government areas waited for hours without the arrival of electoral officials or voting materials.
Speaking through the Deputy Director-General of his campaign council, Hon. Cafra Caino, the former Speaker said the exercise failed to comply with guidelines approved by the APC National Working Committee (NWC).
According to Caino, party members gathered at designated ward and party offices expecting to participate in the primaries, but no materials or officials arrived throughout the exercise.
He said the campaign council could not accept the declared results because they did not represent the wishes of party members in the zone.
“The Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani Campaign Council completely rejects the result announced for the Kaduna Central Senatorial primary because it does not reflect the decision of APC members,” he said.
The council called on the APC National Working Committee and the Kaduna State Electoral Committee to intervene and organise a fresh primary election in line with the party’s constitution and democratic procedures.
The protest later spread as other aggrieved aspirants and supporters demanded the cancellation of the primaries conducted in Kaduna North, Kaduna Central and Kaduna South senatorial districts.
Among those who joined the protest were Michael Ayuba Auta and Yusuf Bala Ikara alongside Senator Laah and other party loyalists.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions accusing the party leadership of undermining democracy and denying members the opportunity to choose candidates through a transparent process.
Addressing journalists, Senator Laah alleged that the APC leadership ignored the direct primary system approved by the party’s National Working Committee and instead adopted what he described as an illegal delegate arrangement.
He maintained that members were prevented from voting at the ward level as stipulated in the party’s guidelines.
The aggrieved aspirants also challenged the Kaduna South senatorial primary that produced Sunday Marshall Katung as winner, alleging that the process lacked transparency and proper supervision.
They further claimed that electoral materials and officials were absent in several wards and polling units, arguing that the exercise violated provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the APC constitution on internal democracy and nomination procedures.
The group urged the APC National Working Committee, the party’s appeal committee and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the exercise and conduct fresh primaries in the three senatorial districts.