Candidates reportedly backed by Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, who represents Zamfara West Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly under the All Progressives Congress (APC), are said to have lost their bids at the party’s National Assembly primaries.
According to confirmed reports from the party headquarters, Senator Ikira Aliyu Bilbis, representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, and Sahabi Yau Kaura, who contested for the Zamfara North Senatorial District ticket, emerged victorious despite not being Senator Yari’s preferred candidates.
A politician in the state, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that Senator Yari attempted to influence the outcome of the primaries through financial inducements.
The source claimed that the senator sought to persuade party leaders and officials to alter the results in favour of his preferred candidates but was unsuccessful.
According to the source, party members rejected the alleged inducements, insisting that their votes and decisions were not for sale.
One APC member in Zamfara State, who also requested anonymity, said:
“We are no longer for sale in Zamfara State. Yari thinks everything is about buying and selling, but we have integrity, and that era has come to an end. He has no integrity, and no one takes him seriously anymore.
“Whenever he is with people, he tries to project himself as powerful. He often claims to have close contacts with the President and Vice President and attempts to demonstrate this in our presence by calling them and putting it on speaker. He believes such displays will impress us, but they do not.”
Reports also alleged that a document titled “Concluded List of APC Senatorial Candidates So Far” was circulated by Senator Yari ahead of the conclusion of the party’s processes. The document contained the names of Senator Yari’s candidates who did not emerge from the primaries.
The circulation of the list prompted the APC to issue a statement disowning the publication and describing it as fake.
In the statement, the party said:
“The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to a purported ‘Concluded List of APC Senatorial Candidates So Far’ currently circulating on social media and some online platforms.
“The APC wishes to state that the said list is FAKE and did not emanate from the Party.
“Accordingly, Party members, stakeholders, the media, and the general public are advised to disregard the publication in its entirety.
“The Party reiterates that only the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, acting through its duly authorised channels of communication, is empowered to announce the list of candidates emerging from its primary elections and other constitutionally prescribed processes.
“We urge all Party members and stakeholders to refrain from circulating unverified information capable of causing confusion, misleading the public, or undermining the integrity of the Party’s democratic processes.”
Attempts to reach Senator Yari for his comments and response proved abortive as he did not respond to messages sent to his known phone number.
