BY JULIET EKWENUGO
Kaduna
The crisis over the senatorial primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State deepened on Tuesday as aggrieved aspirants and their supporters took to major streets of Kaduna metropolis, rejecting the outcome of the exercise and calling for its outright cancellation.
The protesters, numbering in hundreds, disrupted movement along key routes, including Muhammadu Buhari Way (formerly Waff Road) and the Ahmadu Bello Way axis around the NEPA Roundabout, insisting that the primaries were marred by irregularities and violations of party guidelines.
The agitation follows the emergence of Sunday Marshall Katung, former governor Ramalan Yero, and former senator Shehu Sani as winners of the APC senatorial tickets for Kaduna South, Kaduna North, and Kaduna Central Districts ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “There was no APC primaries in Kaduna,” “Give us our preferred candidate,” and “APC must save democracy,” the demonstrators demanded the immediate cancellation of the exercise and conduct of fresh primaries across the three senatorial districts.
The protest was led by former Senator Danjuma Laah alongside other dissatisfied aspirants, including Michael Ayuba Auta and Yusuf Bala Ikara, who alleged widespread manipulation and exclusion of party members from the process.
Earlier, the aggrieved aspirants addressed a press conference at the Kaduna State Council Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), where they warned that they would seek legal redress if the party failed to address their grievances.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Danjuma Laah alleged that the APC leadership deviated from the direct primary system reportedly approved by the National Working Committee (NWC) insisting that what was implemented was a delegate arrangement not sanctioned by the party guidelines.
He further claimed that many party members were denied the opportunity to vote at the ward level, thereby undermining internal democracy and credibility of the exercise.
The group particularly faulted the Kaduna South senatorial primary, which produced Katung as winner, alleging irregular vote allocation and lack of transparency in the conduct of the exercise.
According to them, electoral materials and officials were not adequately deployed in several wards and polling centres, raising questions over compliance with both the Electoral Act 2022 and relevant provisions of the APC constitution.
The aggrieved aspirants therefore called on the APC NWC, the party’s appeal committee, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to intervene and order fresh primaries across Kaduna North, Kaduna Central, and Kaduna South senatorial districts.
