Zamfara North senatorial ticket tussle: Shinkafi writes INEC, calls for Ya'u's fast withdrawal

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and aspirant for Zamfara North Senatorial District, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has requested the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u’s title because the social gathering’s candidate for the 2027 common elections.

Shinkafi’s demand follows the October 20, 2026, judgment of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, which dismissed Ya’u’s enchantment and affirmed an earlier Federal High Court judgment nullifying the APC’s purported main election for the senatorial district.

In a letter addressed to the INEC chairman, Shinkafi, via his attorneys, argued that the fee’s continued publication of Ya’u’s title because the APC candidate was inconsistent with the subsisting courtroom judgments.

The letter, titled “Notice of Unlawful Publication of Sen. Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as APC Candidate for Zamfara North Senatorial District in Defiance of Existing Federal High Court Judgment and Court of Appeal Judgment,” urged the fee to adjust to the courtroom choices.

According to the letter, the Federal High Court in Gusau, in Suit No. FHC/GS/CS/6/2026, put aside the purported APC main election and ordered the social gathering to conduct a recent train involving all cleared aspirants.

It acknowledged that the Court of Appeal, in Appeal No. CA/S/239/2026, upheld the decrease courtroom’s judgment on October 20, 2026, dismissing Ya’u’s enchantment as grossly unmeritorious.

The attorneys maintained that INEC had been served with licensed true copies of the judgments and was due to this fact conscious of the courtroom orders.

They argued that publishing Ya’u’s title earlier than the recent main election or the ultimate dedication of the authorized dispute would undermine judicial authority and violate established electoral procedures.

“In light of the subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal, we urge the Commission to immediately withdraw and stay the publication of Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as the APC candidate,” the letter acknowledged.

Reacting to the event, Shinkafi condemned INEC’s continued recognition of Ya’u because the social gathering’s candidate, warning that the fee’s dealing with of the matter might have an effect on public confidence within the electoral course of.

He stated the electoral physique had a possibility to reveal its dedication to the rule of legislation by complying with the courtroom judgments and guaranteeing that the APC’s candidate choice course of adopted due process.

Shinkafi additionally alleged that anti-democratic forces had been working to stop the APC from fielding a candidate for Zamfara North Senatorial District, warning towards a repeat of previous electoral disputes by which courtroom choices affected political events’ participation.

He insisted that the matter ought to be resolved in accordance with the legislation, stressing that he remained dedicated to strengthening democratic governance and guaranteeing truthful illustration.

The letter, which Shinkafi stated had been submitted to and acknowledged by INEC, was accompanied by the Court of Appeal judgment and the fee’s publication itemizing Ya’u because the APC candidate.

The dispute is anticipated to stay a major situation within the APC’s preparations for the 2027 common elections in Zamfara State, significantly relating to compliance with judicial choices and the collection of the social gathering’s senatorial candidate.