Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A former two‑time governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged as the flag‑bearer of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna State, but one of his leading rivals has immediately rejected the outcome, describing the entire primary as a “total fraud”. Isah Ashiru, who represented Makarfi/Kudan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was declared the winner of the ADC governorship primary held on Monday, 25 May 2026, polling a total of 86,113 votes across the 23 local government areas of the state.
The official breakdown of the results, released by the ADC electoral committee late on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, showed former Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Jafaru Sani, finishing a distant second with 29,580 votes. Professor Muhammad San‑Bello followed with 13,559 votes, Ahmed Tijjani secured 13,550 votes, and Shuaibu Idris – a former Dangote Group executive and recent PDP defector who is widely known as Mikatai – came fifth with 10,819 votes. Ashiru was flanked by key party figures when the result was announced at the ADC collation centre in Kaduna.
Almost immediately, Idris issued a statement rejecting the outcome. The 50‑year‑old businessman, who had earlier endorsed Idris in the run‑up to the primary, accused the ADC primary election committee of conducting a “flawed and compromised” exercise that failed to meet “basic democratic standards of transparency, fairness, and credibility”. According to the statement, a group of aspirants and stakeholders had raised concerns about the process in meetings with the committee before the primary, but were persuaded to proceed in good faith and signed a Memorandum of Understanding. “We raised concerns about the sloppy nature of the process, but proceeded in good faith and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Election Committee,” Idris said. “This arrangement was clearly susceptible to manipulation, scheming, cheating, and other forms of malpractice. There was no way a credible result could emerge from such a process.”
Idris further alleged that inadequate funding, poor staffing and insufficient logistics had undermined the exercise from the start. He claimed that the committee resorted to using the support staff of contestants to supervise parts of the election without proper training, creating a situation that was “clearly susceptible to manipulation”. He also alleged that election materials were hijacked in some locations, that thugs and weapons were reportedly deployed, and that financial inducement was openly displayed – charges he said he could back with documentary and video evidence. “There was no way a credible result could emerge from such a process,” he insisted. In a separate but parallel development, another leading aspirant, Jafaru Sani, rejected the results via a four‑minute video circulated on social media late Wednesday, insisting that the process had been “manipulated” in favour of Ashiru. “We all know there was no election in many places, and some results were not even ready when the announcement was made,” Sani said, specifically citing Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Kaduna North, and Kauru local government areas as locations where results were allegedly still pending.
The controversy reflects the high stakes of the Kaduna ADC primary. Ashiru, who was the PDP governorship candidate in both 2019 and 2023, is widely regarded as the most formidable opposition figure in the state. In 2023, he scored more than 719,000 votes, finishing second behind incumbent Governor Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His decision to defect to the ADC earlier this year was seen as a major coup for the opposition coalition, and he has the backing of several former PDP heavyweights and some allies of ex‑Governor Nasir El‑Rufai. However, the crisis in the ADC’s Kaduna chapter is not limited to the governorship contest. House of Representatives aspirants have also rejected the outcome of their primaries, describing the process as “a sham and totally unacceptable” and demanding a review.
The ADC has not yet formally responded to the allegations. The party’s National Working Committee (NWC) has previously stated that it would investigate complaints arising from the primaries, but no timeline has been announced. If the disputes are not resolved, the party risks heading into the 2027 general election with a fractured structure – a setback that could hand the ruling APC an easy victory in a state where the opposition is already struggling to unify. For now, Idris has vowed to pursue “all lawful means” to challenge the outcome, but has not announced whether he will go to court or seek redress through the party’s internal mechanisms. Sani, meanwhile, has urged his supporters to remain calm while awaiting the conclusion of a committee reportedly set up to review complaints.
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