The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State is facing internal disagreements ahead of a fresh primary election to select its candidate for the Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency.
The development follows a Court of Appeal ruling directing the party to conduct a fresh primary election for the constituency.
Amid the preparations, one of the aspirants, Hassan Dangaladima, has petitioned two organs of the APC over the actions of the party’s National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda.
In the petition, sighted by DAILY POST on Tuesday and subsequently circulated on social media, Dangaladima raised several allegations against the national chairman, particularly concerning the composition of the committee assigned to conduct the fresh primary.
The aspirant accused Yilwatda of unilaterally constituting and approving the committee without consulting the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), which is responsible for key administrative decisions within the party.
He argued that the decision was taken without convening an NWC meeting to deliberate on the composition of the committee.
The petition stated:
“Pursuant to the said court order, the National Chairman purported to nominate and approve a committee to conduct the rescheduled primary election.
“The said nomination was made unilaterally by the National Chairman; no meeting of the National Working Committee was convened for that purpose.”
Dangaladima also questioned the eligibility of his major rival for the party’s ticket, Honourable Aminu Sani Jaji, alleging that the lawmaker was not a registered, card-carrying member of the APC.
Consequently, the aspirant called on the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to suspend the planned primary election and constitute a fresh committee to oversee the exercise.
However, responding to the allegations, Yilwatda, through his media aide, Abimbola Tooki, dismissed the petitioner’s claims as baseless.
The APC chairman’s aide maintained that the committee was properly constituted, contrary to Dangaladima’s allegations.
Gists9ja reports that the dispute comes amid significant political developments in Zamfara State, following the recent defection of Governor Dauda Lawal from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Also, Abdulaziz Yari, a former Zamfara State governor and Director-General of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, is a prominent APC figure from the state.
The latest disagreement raises questions about the management of the party’s fresh primary process, although the national leadership has rejected the allegations against its chairman.
