Why I Turned Down NNPP Senatorial Seat

Former governor of Kano State Ibrahim Shekarau yesterday shunned the International Conference Centre (ICC) where Senators-elect collected their certificate of return.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Shekarau as the winner of the February 25, 2023 senatorial election for Kano South under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

But the serving lawmaker was absent during the presentation of the certificate of return yesterday.

Shekarau’s spokesman, Sule Y. Sule, told LEADERSHIP that his principal had already made it clear that he would not collect the certificate of return.

“We have already made our position clear on the issue. Senator Shekarau is not interested and will not collect the certificate of return. As a matter of principles and personal conviction,” he said.

After the announcement of Ibrahim Shekarau as the winner of the Kano central senatorial election, the national chairman of the NNPP, Prof Rufai Alkali said Shekarau left their party but unfortunately, he was returned by INEC as senator-elect for Kano Central.

“We are not supposed to talk on this, but Shekarau accepted to join our party, we accepted him, he got a ticket to run for the Senate seat in Kano South, but he later wrote to our chairman that he has resigned from the party. Another primary was conducted and Sani Hanga emerged but INEC did not accept his name, we went to court and won the case, they went to Supreme Court.

“INEC is not a political party, why go to the Supreme Court? I know that in the court of public opinion, there is a place of morality. We are at the Supreme Court on the Shekarau case,” Alkali. But the national publicity secretary of the NNPP, Dr Major Agbo, told LEADERSHIP that Shekarau has no business going to collect the certificate of return since he resigned from their party.