- Dr Sani Shinkafi challenges APC’s selection of Senator Sahabi Ya’u as consensus candidate in court
- Shinkafi argues there was no valid consensus agreement among senatorial aspirants for Zamfara North
- Court seeks to nullify primary results and compel fresh elections for APC senatorial ticket
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Sani Shinkafi, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Gusau challenging the emergence of Senator Sahabi Ya’u as the party’s consensus candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District.
Shinkafi, who contested for the APC senatorial ticket, instituted the legal action against the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Senator Ya’u, accusing the party of imposing a candidate in violation of the Electoral Act and the party’s internal guidelines.
Source: Facebook
The suit, marked FHC/GS/CS/6/2026, was filed on May 25 through his counsel, Bello Idris Galadi.
Shinkafi challenges consensus arrangement
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In the court documents, the APC chieftain argued that there was no valid consensus agreement among the aspirants cleared by the party for the primary election, Punch reported.
He maintained that he neither withdrew from the race nor endorsed any aspirant as a consensus candidate before the primary reportedly held on May 19, 2026.
According to him, the party failed to comply with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and the APC constitution governing the conduct of direct and consensus primaries.
Aspirant details purchase of nomination forms
In a 21-paragraph affidavit attached to the suit, Shinkafi explained that he purchased the APC nomination and expression of interest forms for Zamfara North Senatorial District for N20 million on April 30, 2026, Vanguard reported.
“I purchased the APC expression of interest and nomination forms for Zamfara North Senatorial District and was issued a receipt in the sum of ₦20 million on 30th April 2026,” he stated.
He further said,
“I submitted the completed forms and was screened by a committee set up by the party, which cleared three aspirants from Zamfara North Senatorial District to contest the primary election, namely, Hanafi Musa Moriki, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi and Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u.”
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Shinkafi: ‘There was no consensus’
Shinkafi insisted that no agreement was reached among the aspirants regarding the adoption of a consensus candidate.
“There was no consensus amongst the cleared aspirants and no written consent from me indicating my voluntary withdrawal from the race. I also did not endorse any aspirant as the consensus candidate,” he said.
He accused the APC of disregarding democratic principles in the process that produced Senator Ya’u.
“The APC didn’t follow the due process of law before it took the decision to declare Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u as a consensus candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District on 19th May 2026 or any other date,” he added.
“The attitude of the APC is a clear disdain for democracy and the internal democracy of political parties in Nigeria.”
Court asked to nullify primary
Among the reliefs sought before the court are declarations that there was neither a lawful consensus arrangement nor a valid direct primary election conducted by the APC in the district.
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Shinkafi also asked the court to nullify the outcome of the exercise and compel the party to organise a fresh primary involving all cleared aspirants.
He further prayed the court to restrain the defendants from actions capable of breaching constitutional and statutory provisions regulating party primaries.
“This is why serious measures need to be taken to forestall further abuse of the law by persons in authority to avert chaos, lawlessness and dictatorship.
“The law and society shall suffer irreparable damage if the reliefs sought are not granted, and the balance of convenience tilts towards the grant of the reliefs sought,” he stated.
Hearing yet to be scheduled
The legal action comes days after Shinkafi reportedly petitioned the APC National Chairman and the chairman of the party’s Senate Primary Election Committee over the alleged imposition of Senator Ya’u.
He had also vowed to challenge the process in court, alleging that influential political figures in the state manipulated the exercise. No date has been fixed for hearing in the matter.
Source: Legit.ng