Niger SDP Guber Candidate Elected in Absentia

By Laleye Dipo in Minna

There was mild drama at the venue of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship congress in Minna, Niger State Friday when only 54 delegates were accredited to elect a governorship candidate for the party ahead of the 2019 governorship election.

Out of the 54 accredited delegates, 52 elected the candidate of the party, Alhaji El-Mahdys Mahmud Sani.

The drama continued when Sani was elected in absentia even when his opponent, Alhaji Yahaya Ndasadu, was physically present at the venue of the congress.

Ndasadu scored two votes

The governorship candidate, who is the state chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, was said to have travelled to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso for an “official assignment”.

Hajia Fatima Abba, the returning officer for the primary election who announced the result, said the election was peaceful and was conducted according to the guidelines set for the polls.

The SDP candidate had initially planned to contest for the governorship of the state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but ran into a brick wall when the national body allegedly removed him as the Niger State Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association.

He was said to have still picked the nomination form for the APC but was screened out.