Emeka Moses
The crisis of confidence in the Zamfara State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC assumed s fresh twist on Tuesday after an aspirant petitioned the party’s National Executive Committee NEC, its National Working Committee NWC, and security agencies, over the panel set up to run a court-ordered fresh primary for the Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency.
The petitioner, Honourable Hassan Umar Dangaladima, is one of the aspirants in the fresh primary ordered by the Court of Appeal. He accused the APC leadership of bias.
Dangaladima alleged that the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda constituted the committee alone, bypassing the NWC he superintends.
“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; no quorum of the NWC deliberated upon or resolved on the composition of the committee; the nomination was never presented to, ratified or approved by the NWC or the NEC as required by the Party’s Constitution; and neither the aspirants nor the Zamfara State Chapter nor other relevant stakeholders were consulted,” he stated.
Unfounded allegations
Prof. Yilwatda speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Strategic Communication, Mr Abimbola Tooki, described the allegations as unfounded.
He said; “The allegation is completely unfounded and does not reflect the established decision-making process of the All Progressives Congress.
“The National Working Committee NWC has always operated as a collective decision-making body, with members working together, deliberating on issues and taking decisions in the overall interest of the party.
“It is therefore incorrect to suggest that the National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, takes unilateral decisions on matters concerning the activities and administration of the party, particularly on issues as important as the conduct of party primaries.
“The National Chairman does not operate in isolation. He works in consultation and collaboration with other members of the NWC, and decisions are taken collectively in accordance with the party’s constitution, established procedures and internal mechanisms.
“In this particular instance, the suggestion that the National Chairman single-handedly constituted the committee without the knowledge or involvement of the NWC is misleading. The party remains committed to respecting the rule of law, implementing court directives and ensuring that all party processes are conducted in a transparent, fair and credible manner.
“The APC is a democratic institution governed by rules and collective responsibility, not the personal preferences of any individual”, Yilwatda stated.
However, Dangaladima said the make-up of the committee gives cause for alarm. “The composition of the committee as announced raises a real and reasonable apprehension of bias: members of the committee are known loyalists, supporters and/or agents of a particular aspirant in the contest, namely Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji, thereby placing them in a position of manifest conflict of interest.”
Jaji is Dangaladima’s main rival for the ticket, and the petitioner also challenged his standing in the party. He alleged that Jaji is not a card-carrying member of the APC.
“The very aspirant the impugned committee is designed to favour, Honourable Aminu Sani Jaji, is not a registered member of the Party: his name is not contained in the Register of Members of the All Progressives Congress for Birnin Magaji Ward submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as confirmed by the Certified True Copy of the said Register obtained from INEC (Exhibit A),” the petition read.
According to Dangaladima, the party was formally put on notice. “A formal demand to that effect was made on the Party by letter dated 4th November, 2026 from Trinity Chambers (D.C. Enwelum, SAN), Solicitors in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/2026 — Hon. Hassan Umar v. Aminu Sani Jaji & 4 Ors. (Exhibit B).”
He invoked the law to argue that Jaji cannot take part. “By Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act 2026, only members whose names are contained in the register of members shall be eligible to vote and be voted for in party primaries, congresses and conventions; the said aspirant is therefore ineligible to contest the court-ordered primary election.”
The aspirant also said the process was shrouded in secrecy, adding that aspirants were deliberately kept in the dark to achieve a pre-determined goal.
“The membership of the committee was never published in advance; aspirants were afforded no notice of its composition and no opportunity to object to members with conflicts of interest; and no screening or vetting mechanism whatsoever was applied to secure the impartiality and independence of the committee,” he said.
In his view, the method breached the party’s own rules and the law. “The manner of the committee’s constitution violates the rules of natural justice (audi alteram partem and nemo judex in causa sua), the principle of internal democracy enshrined in the Party’s Constitution, the Party’s guidelines for the conduct of primaries, and the Electoral Act, particularly the requirement of transparent, credible and INEC-monitored primaries.”
The petition urged the NEC to halt the fresh primary and order a new set of individuals to conduct it. Dangaladima cautioned that going ahead with the team already constituted by the national chairman would damage the ruling party’s electoral fortunes in the North West state in the forthcoming general elections.
Copies of the petition went to the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), the National Vice Chairman, North West, the party’s National Legal Adviser and the Zamfara State Chairman of the party.
Also copied were the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the DSS Zamfara State Director, the Chairman of INEC and the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, among others.
He said; “Unless urgently rescinded, the committee so constituted cannot conduct a free, fair, credible and acceptable primary; any outcome it produces will be a nullity in law, vulnerable to being set aside, and may expose the Party to the statutory sanction of exclusion of its candidate from the election altogether.
“Time is of the essence: the Party is under a subsisting court order with a defined timeline, and any defective step taken under colour of that order will compound contempt exposure, intra-party litigation and irreparable damage to the Party’s fortunes and reputation in Zamfara State”.
