By Kabir Dan-Katsina, Birnin Kebbi
Following an injunction from the Supreme Court directing political parties conduct fresh primaries due to litigations by aspirants nationwide, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has organised its elections for Birnin Kebbi/Kalgo/ Bunza Fed Constituency Aspirants.
However, the most talked about is the Birnin Kebbi/Kalgo/Bunza Federal Constituency, given its size and proximity from the state capital, and being the first to be taken to court seeking redress by one of its aspirants, Idris Ibrahim Kalgo, who challenged the victory of Ibrahim Abubakar Dikko.
The primary was conducted on Wednesday between Idris Ibrahim Kalgo who before, now challenged his contender Ibrahim Abubakar Dikko at the Supreme Court. The exercise was done peacefully, devoid of rancour and acrimony in most parts of the polling units across all three local government areas, testing yet again the strength of internal democracy preparatory to the general elections in 2027.
Speaking to journalists in Birnin Kebbi after securing a landslide victory, Ibrahim Abubakar Dikko said democracy had shown the world that it has come to stay in Nigeria, judging by the large turnout of the electorate at the polling units.
“They endured the sunny weather and obeyed the rules set by the National Officers of our great party. They conducted themselves in an orderly manner. In the end, we won massively. I am very proud of them.
“I am therefore appealing to them to maintain the tempo. The journey has just begun; the general elections are around the corner. We must work round the clock to turn out a great number of votes for all ADC candidates at both state and federal levels,” Dikko said.
In response, Idris Ibrahim Kalgo rejected the results of the election saying, “It was manipulated by the former Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to suit his political ambition of governing Kebbi State. His chance of winning the election is very slim.
“I am considering returning to court to challenge the results. I don’t see the ADC doing well in the general elections in the state because of clear injustice in the primaries. I am the best candidate to bring positive reforms to my constituency in all sectors of the economy. The party will perform well at the national level,” Kalgo said.
