Governorship Candidate and State party Chairman of the Action Democratic Party, (ADP), in Kaduna State, Yusuf Jibrin, has said the substitution or replacement of Sani Sha’aban as the gubernatorial candidate of ADP did not follow due process as spelt out in section 31 of the Electoral Act.
He stated this in a statement made available to the media in Kaduna on Sunday.
According to him, he was nominated and presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), as the candidate but was shocked to his bone marrow when on 7th December 2022 at an hotel in Barnawa, Kaduna South Local Government Area that out of desperation Sani Sha’aban conducted and arranged for a party primaries as a sole aspirant and later emerged as the Guber candidate of ADP.
Jibrin said he consulted his lawyers for advice and was told that whatever Sani Sha’aban has done was not in tandem with the provisions of the Electoral Act and was therefore null and void.
Jibrin added that in INEC records and publications his name Yusuf Jibrin was the Kaduna State Gubernatorial candidate of ADP in the 18th March 2023 elections.
“Sani Sha’aban was NEVER on INEC list, has no locus standi and I have not given him any authority to represent me anywhere or whatsoever.
“By whatever he has done, he has actually increased the popularity of ADP in Kaduna, as a politician I recognize his efforts and thank him for that.
“But I must warn that, we know the antics of Sani Sha’aban as a nomadic politician, he must tread with caution as not to drag the name of our party, ADP into disrepute.
“We have enjoyed good and able leadership from our National Chairman, Engr. Yabagi Sani, who has worked tirelessly in bringing the party to where it is, and any attempt by Sani Sha’aban and his sponsors to bring this down will be resisted,” the statement warned.