.

…petitions police over alleged threat to life, attack on supporters

…as group demands thorough investigation into allegations

By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja

Aggrieved governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in Kano State, Alh. Sha’aban Sharada, has urged the leadership of the party to nullify Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna’s nomination as the candidate of the party for the 2023 governorship poll in the state.

He also petitioned this police over alleged threats to his life shortly before the APC governorship primary in Kano.

In a letter to the national headquarters of the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said there was no primary election of the party that produced Gawuna, describing his emergence as the candidate of the party as “fraudulent”.

Sharada also alleged that the exercise conducted by Sen.Tijjani Yahaya Kaura, Chairman of Kano APC Governorship Primary Election Committee on behalf of the National working committee of the party was designed to favour his opponent.

Kaura had declared Gawuna the winner of the primary election with 2,289 votes while his only rival, Sha’aban Sharada, polled a total of 30 votes.

Rejecting the results announced by the Kaura-led APC election committee, the aggrieved aspirant called for a fresh primary election in the state.

He also said if APC is desirous to win the poll in the state, a fresh primary of the party should be conducted transparently to produce its standard-bearer for the 2023 governorship poll.

Meanwhile, in his petition to the police, Sharadan stated: “That he received news of attack on his supporters while he was at the venue of the election and that thugs were hired to kill him, forcing him to rush to the hospital where the victims were received.

“That before the incident his security personnel were asked to step down from escorting him.

“That few minutes to the commencement of the exercise, he was cautioned by a security official not come to attend the venue of the election.

“That he received a text message from the primary election committee chairman in person of Senator Tijjani Kaura who urged him to be in the venue to start the election.”

Reacting to the development, a civil society group, the Coalition of Monitors for Credible Election, demanded thorough probe into Sharada’s complaints with a view to averting bloodbath in the state.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Co-ordinator of the group, Comrade Balarabe Rufai, said: “We are disturbed by the level of uncontrolled desperation expressed in the use of brutal means by some Kano politicians to sway delegates to their sides and intimidate opponents.

“More disturbing is the allegation that some of the youths that supported Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada, a young contestant, were fatally attacked by hired mob resulting in the killing of some.

“We invite the attention of the Kano state police command and leadership of the APC to the need to seriously investigate and punish the perpetrators and also to immediately nullify the so-called primary election that was marred with a lot of irregularities, vote buying and intimidation.

“We also give notice that we have made similar representations to the International Human Rights Commission of the United Nations and other international agencies and bodies calling for their immediate intervention to avert a bloody 2023 election in Kano and other places.”