Why Senator Shehu Sani lost Kaduna Central seat
Shehu Sani is one of the most popular politicians in Kaduna State. His years in pro-democracy activism even pushed his popularity beyond the shores of Kaduna State, such that many began to see him as a man of the people.
However, his recent loss of Kaduna Central senatorial seat came as a shock to many, largely because his public outings, online posts, and engagements with the masses, had probably portrayed him as one who is at home with his constituents.
But Shehu Sani did not only lose the seat to the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Malam Uba Sani, but also came a distant third with less votes than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Lawal Adam Usman.
Whereas Uba Sani scored 355,242 votes, the PDP candidate polled 195,497, leaving Shehu Sani with only 70,613 votes. This means that the incumbent senator was only able to secure a little over 11 per cent out of a total of 621, 352 votes cast in the election.
A further breakdown of the figures shows that out of the seven LGAs in the senatorial district, the APC candidate led in five LGAs while PDP led in two.
What happened to ‘Jagoran Talakawa’, as he is popularly known?
To many, Shehu Sani lost traction the moment he failed to defect to the PDP with his other colleagues, especially after years of criticizing the APC administration.
His bid to remain in the party after disagreement with Governor Nasir elRufai of Kaduna State, was perhaps his undoing, as the governor made sure he did not get the APC return ticket.
By the time reality dawned on him, however, his colleagues in the main opposition PDP had moved; hence, he decided to pitch his tent with the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) on whose platform he sought re-election.
Although he continued his interface with the people, the mere fact that he was in political orphanage robbed him of many of his supporters who were won over by the other parties and their candidates.
As a loner in the PRP, he was also denied the opportunity to penetrate certain areas, as he was used to when he was with the main opposition leaders in the state.
His hitherto co-travelers, mainly in the opposition PDP, began to view his move with suspicion, and thus did whatever it takes to stop him.
Malam Uba Sani, who won the Kaduna Central senatorial elections, has also said Shehu Sani lost because he failed to serve the interest of the people.
According to him, he never felt threatened by Shehu Sani, even at the initial stage of the contest.
But Senator Sani has called for the cancellation of the National Assembly polls, saying the elections did not hold in most of the LGAs in his constituency, especially in Giwa, Birnin-Gwari and Igabi.
”We are concerned about what our party agents told us happened during the elections such as the failure of the card readers, rigging and vote-buying.
“There were also cases of overvoting because in some polling units; the number of people that voted was more than the number of people accredited.
“This happened because there was no scrutiny for voters. In Giwa LGA, the ad hoc staff who conducted the election were not those trained by INEC. In Birnin Gwari, there were cases of rigging and harassment of voters,” he said.
He noted that in Igabi LGA, ballot papers were scarce and not available for the people to vote, adding that his party had forwarded a letter to INEC seeking cancellation of all the elections, particularly the senatorial and House of Representatives elections.