The All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday that Senator Shehu Sani remains its senatorial candidate from Kaduna Central.
Its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, gave the clarification in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Abuja.
He said Sani was the only senatorial candidate from the zone that was duly recognised by the national body.
In respect of Senator Ajayi Boroffice (Ondo North) and Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East), Nabena said the National Working Committee (NWC) would wait for reports from the Ondo and Lagos chapters.
According to him, “state chapters have no power to conduct any primary. Only the electoral committee set up by the NWC can do that.”
Sani has distanced himself from the primary election held in Kaduna State on Saturday, where he was said to have lost to Special Adviser to Governor Nasir El-rufai on Political Affairs, Malam Uba Sani.
The Returning Officer of the primary held at Murtala Mohammed Square, Kaduna, Prof. Eddie Floyd-Igbo, declared Uba Sani the winner with 2,088 votes. He said Shehu Sani garnered only 15 votes.
Nabena said: “Yes election took place in that zone because of the House of Representatives and the State House of Assembly, but for the senatorial position, the only candidate is Senator Shehu Sani.
The APC headquarters had announced Senator Sani as its only candidate cleared to contest the Kaduna Central senatorial seat in 2019 elections.”
Also yesterday, the Presidency said it had not received the letter purportedly written by Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President did not authorise any governor or anybody to deal with traitors and disloyal members of APC.
The APC has been urged to revoke the automatic tickets it granted Senators Ajayi Borrofice (North), Yele Omogunwa (South) and Tayo Alasoadura (Central) in Ondo State.
The State Executive Council of APC rejected the automatic tickets following the latest decision of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Lagos State APC also elected some candidates.
The Ondo State APC conducted elections into the three senatorial districts electing Dr. Tunji Abayomi (North), Senator Tayo Alasoadura (Central) and Lucky Aiyedatiwa (South) as candidates.
A statement by the Ondo State Chairman of the party Ade Adetimehin and Publicity Secretary Alex Kalejaiye, all the deputy chairmen representing the three senatorial districts, said: “Ondo State APC has accepted and abided with the decision of the NWC of the party that only aspirants for seats at the Senate and House of Representatives, who emerged through direct primaries conducted last Friday be recognised and upheld.
“There cannot and must not be double standards. Automatic ticket is alien to the party and the NWC in its wisdom has directed all state chapters of the party to run away from it by ensuring that equity, justice and fairness is pursued with all muscles, in order to sustain and strengthen internal democracy for which the party is well-reputed. It cannot be otherwise. We cannot and must not set double standards, lest the integrity and esteem of the party is impeached before the electorate.”
