An aspirant for the Zamfara North Senatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has accused the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, of undermining democracy in the state through alleged imposition of candidates ahead of Tuesday’s senatorial primaries.
In a statement signed and made available to newsmen, Shinkafi alleged that Matawalle arrived in Zamfara alongside former and serving governors, claiming that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed all senatorial aspirants to step down in favour of serving senators.
According to him, the alleged directive was issued without consultation and contradicted earlier public assurances by both the President and the APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, on the need to uphold democratic principles and due process within the party.
“This impunity, injustice and flagrant disregard for the APC Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026 shall not stand,” Shinkafi declared, adding that he would challenge what he described as his unlawful exclusion in court.
He described the development as “political banditry” and warned that it could threaten APC’s chances in Zamfara State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Citing Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2026, Shinkafi maintained that political parties are required to conduct primaries either through direct voting or consensus, with the process monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The aspirant stressed that he had neither withdrawn from the race nor submitted any resignation letter, insisting that he was not part of any consensus arrangement.
He subsequently directed his supporters across Zamfara North to stay away from what he termed an “undemocratic affirmation” of preferred aspirants, alleging that political thugs had been mobilised to disrupt the primaries.
Shinkafi also drew parallels with the events of 2019, when the Supreme Court nullified all APC primaries in Zamfara over internal disputes linked to candidate imposition, resulting in victories being awarded to rival parties.
“History is about to repeat itself with the unlawful exclusion of aspirants for the Senate,” he warned.
Shinkafi, a former governorship candidate in Zamfara State and former National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), currently serves as Patron of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council 2023.
He called on the party leadership to strictly adhere to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and the APC Constitution to avoid a repeat of the 2019 scenario, which he said cost the party all elective positions in Zamfara State, including the governorship seat.
Efforts to obtain a response from the office of the Minister of State for Defence were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
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