Confusion and tension erupted within the African Democratic Congress in Jigawa State on Wednesday as allegations of irregularities, violence, and malpractice forced the party to suspend its ongoing primaries indefinitely.
According to The PUNCH, the suspension affects the collation of results for the State House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, governorship, and presidential tickets.
Announcing the decision, the Chief Returning Officer, retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Zaki Ahmed, said the exercise could not continue due to unresolved complaints and widespread disruptions across several local government areas.
“We have received results from 19 out of the 27 local government areas, while we are still awaiting returns from Auyo, Roni, and Kazaure,” he said.
Ahmed explained that multiple infractions were recorded during the exercise, including threats and outright cancellation of votes in some areas.
“There were reports of irregularities and malpractice in several local governments. In Gwaram, there were threats of violence capable of disrupting the entire process,” he added.
He further disclosed that no election was held in Guri Local Government due to internal conflict among party factions.
“In Guri, there was no election at all because of disagreements among factional leaders. Based on these developments, we have suspended the collation exercise,” Ahmed stated.
The primary elections, which began earlier in the week across the 27 local government areas, quickly descended into controversy, with allegations of intimidation, factional clashes, cancellation of results, and disruption of voting processes.
For over 48 hours, no official winners were announced, heightening anxiety among party members, delegates, and stakeholders.
An election observer, Dayyabu Musa, described the atmosphere as tense and chaotic, saying internal rivalries worsened the situation.
“The suspension followed days of tension and political horse-trading, with rival camps accusing each other of manipulating delegates,” he said.
Musa added that security personnel were deployed at the collation centre to maintain order amid rising tension.
Despite the setback, the ADC electoral committee said the process would resume after the Eid-el-Kabir holidays, with officials expected to reconvene at 2 p.m. to continue collation and possibly announce results.
The party commended members, security agencies, and officials for their efforts in managing the exercise, expressing hope that the remaining process would be concluded peacefully.
