INEC: Machina winner of APC Yobe North Senatorial ticket , not Lawan

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that it has recognised the candidature of  Bashir Machina  as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Yobe North Senatorial District for 2023 election.

Machina contested the  primary organised by the party in May and  had won unopposed.

However, there were speculations that he was being asked to step down for Senate President Ahmad Lawan, who currently represents the district.

But Machina had insisted that he would not withdraw for Lawan — the senate president had contested the APC presidential ticket but lost to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu .

Amid the controversy, the APC submitted Lawan’s name to INEC as its senatorial candidate for Yobe north, and Abdullahi Adamu, APC national chairman, had said the Senate President Contested a senatorial primary organised by the party.

Adamu had also warned Machina over his comments on the party’s senatorial ticket for the district.

However, on Friday, an INEC report surfaced online, in which Machina was confirmed as having won the APC senatorial primary for Yobe North after he polled 289 votes unopposed.

The document was signed and stamped with the date, June 23, 2022.

Confirming the genuineness of the document to TheCable, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, said the document is from the commission.

“It’s our document,” he told TheCable.

According to the document, the primary, which held on May 28, was monitored by INEC officials and security agents and was done via open-secret ballot.

The result of the exercise was also said to have been “generally accepted”.

Recall that INEC  rejected the primary election which produced former Senate Minority leader, Godswill Akpabio as the APC candidate in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.

Recall that Akpabio stepped down for the National Leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the party’s presidential primaries .

He was declared winner of a senatorial primary election.

The Akwa Ibom State APC Chairman, Stephen Ntukekpo, had said he was directed by the ruling party’s national body to conduct a re-run over alleged infractions.

Then results from the fresh primary said Akapbio emerged winner with 478 votes, while DIG Ekpo Udom (rtd), who won the first primary, secured just three votes.

But the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Mike Igini, told journalists  that INEC would only recognise the winner of the primaries monitored by the commission.

He said that INEC did not monitor the re-run APC senatorial primaries, that saw Akpabio emerged winner.

“The primaries were concluded on the 27 of May, so I don’t know what you are talking about. The one that was conducted was monitored by INEC and the report has been submitted to Abuja.

“INEC is not aware of any senatorial primaries conducted on Thursday (June 9) that was monitored by INEC, none,” he stated.