News Investigators/ Former Director-General of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Prof. Musa Maitafsir, has been declared winner of the APC primary election for the Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Maitafsir defeated his closest rival, Abubakar Umar-Shagari, by 8,830 votes to 851.
The result, released to reporters on Sunday, was signed by the primary election committee Chairman, l Hassan Ibrahim, and Secretary, Muhammad Ikililu.
NAN also reports that it was the only constituency in Sokoto State that held a direct primary election among the state’s 11 federal constituencies, while 10 others opted for consensus.
Meanwhile, Mr Umar-Shagari had earlier expressed dissatisfaction over alleged manipulation of the process, assuring that he would seek legal redress over the irregularities.
Mr Umar-Shagari alleged that party officials conspired with election officials to conduct voting earlier than scheduled at some centres in Yabo LGA.
He said the party had stipulated that the direct primary should be held in the presence of all members, “but at some centres, only eight people were listed as having complied with the guidelines.”
The aspirant added that neither he nor his agents were informed that only party members with up-to-date financial dues could vote, a situation that disenfranchised many members.
He further alleged that in Shagari LGA, election officials were absent from centres by 12 noon, and he reported that to the committee.
The committee chairman denied the allegations, stating that several meetings were held with stakeholders, aspirants’ representatives, security officials, and monitors to outline the election requirements.
Mr Hassan explained that only registered members who had paid their dues were eligible to vote at their polling units.
“Forms were provided to record each aspirant’s scores for collation at the constituency level under the supervision of representatives.
“Every qualified member who was on the queue at closing time was allowed to vote,” the committee chairman said.
He attributed the complaints to the shift from delegate primaries to direct primaries, which was new to many, especially the requirement to pay dues.
During the exercise in Yabo, Abubakar Shehu (APC-Sokoto), member representing Yabo LGA in the State House of Assembly, said the process went smoothly across 114 polling units.
Mr Shehu said he led stakeholders to monitor the process and noted that the dues requirement had caught many loyalists off guard.
He expressed satisfaction with the process, noting that most centres completed voting without incident.
The Chairman of Yabo LGA, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar, also praised the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
NAN