APC Senatorial Aspirant Head to Court over Substitution with Incumbent

By Laleye Dipo in Minna

Alhaji Sani Musa (313), who is believed to have won the the Niger East senatorial district primary election has headed to the court to challenge his substitution with incumbent Senator David Umaru.

Umaru’s name was among those submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat Thursday.

“We have already contacted our lawyers, we are going to court to challenge the undemocratic action,” Alhaji Nma Kolo, a member of the Sani Musa senatorial Advisory Council said in Minna Friday.

Kolo said: “We will reclaim the popular mandate given to us by the good people of the senatorial zone, not less than 39,000 people queued behind Sani Musa only 5,000 people lined up behind Senator David Umaru.”

He said his principal has the result slip issued to him by the returning officer, Alhaji Saidu Akawu, adding that it was the national secretariat that changed the wish of the people of the zone.

“In Abuja, the national chairman of the party said he wanted all the serving senators to be returned automatically. We rejected the move because an election has been held and a winner declared

“We are surprised that the party still went ahead to substitute the name of the winner with that of another person,” Kolo said.

Kolo appealed to the people of the senatorial zone “to remain calm and not to take the laws into their hands as everything is being done to correct the wrong done to us”.

THISDAY however learnt that the name of another victorious candidate for the Niger North senatorial zone, Zakari Jikantoro, was also substituted with that of the Senate spokesman, Alhaji Sabi Abdullahi, who lost in the primary election held in the area, while the victorious Alhaji Mohammed Bima was retained for the Niger South senatorial zone.

In the meantime, the state radio station has announced that Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is retaining his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, as his running mate for the 2019 governorship election.