Shinkafi Drags APC, INEC To Court Over Alleged Imposition Of Candidate

A political crisis may be brewing within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State following a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Gusau by an aspirant for the Zamfara North Senatorial District, Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, challenging the emergence of Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as the party’s consensus candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.

Shinkafi, an APC chieftain and patron of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council in 2023, accused the party of imposing a candidate without following due process as stipulated in the Electoral Act, 2026 and the party’s guidelines governing direct and consensus primaries.

The suit, marked FHC/GS/CS/6/2026 and filed on May 25, 2026 by his counsel, Bello Idris Galadi, joined the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as defendants.

In the court documents, Shinkafi argued that there was no consensus among the cleared aspirants for the Zamfara North senatorial ticket and insisted that he never withdrew from the race nor endorsed any candidate as a consensus nominee.

He further alleged that the APC failed to comply with constitutional and statutory provisions before announcing Senator Ya’u as the party’s candidate on May 19, 2026.

The plaintiff is asking the court to determine whether the APC complied with Sections 84, 86, and 87 of the Electoral Act 2026, as well as relevant provisions of the APC Constitution and party guidelines on direct and consensus primaries.

Among the reliefs sought are declarations that due process was not followed in the conduct of the primary election, that there was no valid consensus or direct primary, and that the actions of the APC were contrary to the principles of internal democracy.

Shinkafi is also seeking an order nullifying the purported primary election and directing the APC to conduct a fresh primary involving all cleared aspirants for the Zamfara North Senatorial District.

According to a 21-paragraph affidavit attached to the suit, Shinkafi stated that he purchased the APC expression of interest and nomination forms for ₦20 million on April 30, 2026, completed the process, and was screened alongside two other aspirants—Hanafi Musa Moriki and Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u.

He maintained that no consensus meeting was held among the aspirants and that no written consent indicating his withdrawal was ever submitted.

The APC stalwart described the party’s actions as “a clear disdain for democracy and internal party democracy in Nigeria,” warning that continued abuse of the law by political actors could lead to “chaos, lawlessness, and dictatorship.”

He further argued that the law and society would suffer “irreparable damage” if the court fails to grant the reliefs sought.

Before approaching the court, Shinkafi had reportedly written petitions to the APC National Chairman and the chairman of the party’s Senate Primary Election Committee, condemning what he described as the arbitrary imposition of a candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District.

As of the time of filing this report, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the matter, which political observers say could alter political calculations in Zamfara State ahead of the 2027 elections.