Yari plans to sue as G8 insists on primaries

Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State is planning a court action against the All Progressives Congress (APC) for annulling last Wednesday’s botched governorship primary election, Daily Trust has learnt.

The gubernatorial primary, which generated tension in the state, was cancelled midway by the then Abubakar A. Fari-led election committee after it was marred by violence and alleged voter intimidation. The cancellation was later ratified by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party which also sacked the party’s exco in the state.

However, Governor Yari kicked against the decision, saying the election had to be concluded.

The APC in the state, on Monday, returned Yari’s anointed candidate, Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu Idris, as gubernatorial candidate and the outgoing governor as senatorial candidate.

It was not yet clear if the national headquarters of the party had accepted the arrangement or whether Idris and Yari’s names had been forwarded to INEC.

Speaking on the planned court action, a source in Zamfara government told Daily Trust that they were at the discussion level. “We are at the discussion level and we will talk about it later,” he said.

On how far they had gone with their struggle, a governorship aspirant and one of the G8 members, Alhaji Sani Jaji, said all of them would remain undeterred on the urgency to have direct primaries in which a candidate would emerge.

On how they would sort it out during the primaries, considering that only one candidate would emerge for the governorship, Jaji, who is a lawmaker representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency, said they did not team up to support one aspirant.

“Supporting one of us would make our opponents to pay attention to him and heavily plot against him; all of us are in the contest and we know that in a free and fair contest, one person would emerge,” he said.

The G8 included Senator Kabiru Marafa; the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala Muhammad, Defence Minister Brigadier General Mansur Dan Ali (rtd.); Alhaji Sagir Hamidu Gusau, former Governor Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, Alhaji Abu Magaji and Alhaji Dauda Lawal Dare.