The camps of former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, and Kaduna Central senatorial aspirant, Yerima Shettima, have rejected the endorsement of former Senator Shehu Sani as the preferred candidate for Kaduna Central ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The rejection followed Sani’s endorsement by certain All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders from Zone 2 of Kaduna State during a meeting held on Wednesday.
The endorsement was led by the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Sadiq Mamman Lagos, who said Sani was selected based on his performance between 2015 and 2019.
Reacting, Musa Aliyu Khalid, Campaign Director for former Speaker Yusuf Zailani, dismissed the endorsement, insisting that political decisions should not be controlled by a select few.
“Politics belongs to the people, not to one person alone. Just because someone is endorsed does not mean he has already won the election,” he said.
Similarly, the Capacity Movement, a group supporting Yerima Shettima, described the endorsement process as undemocratic.
In a statement signed by its President, Shehu Sani Sado, the group condemned what it described as an attempt to impose a candidate and insisted on a transparent direct primary election.
The group maintained that only an open and competitive primary would reflect the true wishes of party members and strengthen internal democracy within the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
