Zamfara APC Primary: Dangaladima Petitions Party Leadership, Demands Fresh Electoral Panel

The hues and cries surrounding who will fly the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State remain unresolved.

This follows a petition by Honourable Hassan Umar Dangaladima, one of the aspirants for the ticket in the fresh primary election ordered by the Court of Appeal, seeking redress from two organs of the party: the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC).

In the petition, Dangaladima accused the APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, of acting in a manner inconsistent with the party’s established procedures in constituting the committee to conduct the fresh primary.

He alleged that the national chairman single-handedly constituted the committee without recourse to the National Working Committee, which he supervises.
According to him:

“Pursuant to the said court order, the National Chairman purported to nominate and approve a committee to conduct the rescheduled primary election.

“The said nomination was made unilaterally by the National Chairman: no meeting of the National Working Committee was convened for that purpose; no quorum of the NWC deliberated upon or resolved on the composition of the committee; the nomination was never presented to, ratified or approved by the NWC or the NEC as required by the Party’s Constitution; and neither the aspirants nor the Zamfara State Chapter nor other relevant stakeholders were consulted.

“The composition of the committee as announced raises a real and reasonable apprehension of bias: members of the committee are known loyalists, supporters and/or agents of a particular aspirant in the contest, namely Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji, thereby placing them in a position of manifest conflict of interest.”

Dangaladima also alleged in his petition that his main rival for the ticket, Honourable Aminu Sani Jaji, is not a registered member of the APC.
In his statement, he said:

“Further and on a related note, the very aspirant the impugned committee is designed to favour, Honourable Aminu Sani Jaji, is not a registered member of the Party: his name is not contained in the Register of Members of the All Progressives Congress for Birnin Magaji Ward submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as confirmed by the Certified True Copy of the said Register obtained from INEC (Exhibit A).

“A formal demand to that effect was made on the Party by letter dated 4th November, 2026 from Trinity Chambers (D.C. Enwelum, SAN), Solicitors in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/2026 — Hon. Hassan Umar v. Aminu Sani Jaji & 4 Ors. (Exhibit B).

“By Section 77(5) of the Electoral Act 2026, only members whose names are contained in the register of members shall be eligible to vote and be voted for in party primaries, congresses and conventions; the said aspirant is therefore ineligible to contest the court-ordered primary election.”
The petitioner further alleged that the APC National Chairman deliberately failed to brief the aspirants on the membership of the election committee in order to achieve a predetermined outcome.

He stated:
“The membership of the committee was never published in advance; aspirants were afforded no notice of its composition and no opportunity to object to members with conflicts of interest; and no screening or vetting mechanism whatsoever was applied to secure the impartiality and independence of the committee.

“The manner of the committee’s constitution violates the rules of natural justice (audi alteram partem and nemo judex in causa sua), the principle of internal democracy enshrined in the Party’s Constitution, the Party’s guidelines for the conduct of primaries, and the Electoral Act, particularly the requirement of transparent, credible and INEC-monitored primaries.”

In his petition, Dangaladima called on the APC National Executive Committee not to proceed with the fresh primary using the existing committee. Instead, he demanded that a new set of individuals be appointed to conduct the exercise.

He warned that any attempt to proceed with the committee already constituted by the national chairman could negatively affect the APC’s electoral fortunes in the North-West states ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
According to him:

“Unless urgently rescinded, the committee so constituted cannot conduct a free, fair, credible and acceptable primary; any outcome it produces will be a nullity in law, vulnerable to being set aside, and may expose the Party to the statutory sanction of exclusion of its candidate from the election altogether.

“Time is of the essence: the Party is under a subsisting court order with a defined timeline, and any defective step taken under colour of that order will compound contempt exposure, intra-party litigation and irreparable damage to the Party’s fortunes and reputation in Zamfara State…”

Those copied in the petition include the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), the National Vice Chairman (North-West), the party’s National Legal Adviser and the Zamfara State Chairman of the party.
Others copied include the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Zamfara State Director of the DSS, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Zamfara State, among others.