Kaura Wins APC Zamfara North Senatorial Ticket with 16,758 Votes in Fresh Primary

Yahaya Tijjani Kaura has emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Zamfara North after securing a decisive victory in a fresh primary election ordered following a court judgment that nullified the party’s earlier exercise.

Kaura polled 16,758 votes to defeat two other aspirants in the rerun primary held in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital.

His closest challenger, Sahabi Yari Alhaji, came a distant second with 1,465 votes, while Abdullahi Shinkafi finished third with 1,447 votes.

The fresh primary followed a Court of Appeal judgment which upheld the cancellation of the earlier APC senatorial primary for Zamfara North over alleged serious violations of the party’s guidelines and the Electoral Act.

The appellate court, sitting in Sokoto, had last month affirmed an earlier ruling of the Federal High Court in Gusau, which nullified the disputed primary election in August 2026.

In its judgment, the Court of Appeal, through Justice Tunde Oyebamiji Awotoye, held that Shinkafi had successfully established his case.

The court also questioned the credibility of the earlier exercise, particularly the reported discrepancy between the number of registered APC members in the senatorial district and the votes recorded for an aspirant.

It raised concerns over how a district with about 26,000 registered party members could produce as many as 70,000 votes for one candidate.

Announcing the outcome of the fresh exercise, the Returning Officer of the APC Senatorial Primary Election Committee, Alhaji Sani Abdullahi, declared Kaura the winner.

Abdullahi said Kaura satisfied the requirements of the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines and secured the highest number of votes cast by the delegates.

With the declaration, Kaura has secured the APC ticket to contest the Zamfara North Senatorial District seat in the 2027 National Assembly election.

He defeated Alhaji by a margin of 15,293 votes, bringing the party’s fresh selection process to a close after the earlier primary was invalidated by the courts.