Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum has commended the peaceful and orderly conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primaries across Borno State.
Zulum gave the commendation on Saturday while speaking with newsmen after supervising the APC primary election for Gubio, Kaga and Magumeri Federal Constituency in Magumeri town.
Hundreds of APC supporters from the three local government areas gathered at the venue to witness the exercise.
The governor said the primaries were conducted in line with the Electoral Act 2026 and the constitution of the APC, which provides for consensus arrangements among aspirants.
“We are here to witness the primary election in line with the Electoral Act 2026 and the APC constitution, which allows for consensus arrangements among aspirants,” he said.
Zulum explained that three aspirants initially indicated interest in contesting for the House of Representatives ticket, but two later stepped down in support of the incumbent lawmaker, Hon. Usman Zannah.
“We have three contestants vying for the position of the House of Representatives, but fortunately, under the consensus arrangement as enshrined in the constitution of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), two of the aspirants stepped down for the incumbent member, Hon. Usman Zannah,” he said.
The governor said party members and stakeholders from the three local government areas had affirmed support for the consensus candidate.
He congratulated Zannah on his emergence and commended the aspirants who stepped down, Hon. Shettima Shehu and Alhaji Mohammed Sanda Ngamdu, for demonstrating political maturity and party unity.
“I want to extend my congratulations to the candidate and the others who stepped down for him,” Zulum said.
“I also want to express my appreciation to all APC supporters and the people of Borno State for ensuring a peaceful voting process.”
The governor stressed that the consensus arrangement adopted by the APC was voluntary and did not deny aspirants the right to contest.
“Consensus is a voluntary option, and anybody who does not wish to go for a consensus election has the right to participate in a direct primary,” he added.
Also speaking, Chairman of the APC Primary Elections Committee for Gubio, Kaga and Magumeri Federal Constituency, Hon. Yuguda Saleh Vungas, said party stakeholders unanimously adopted consensus as the mode of primary.
Vungas commended Governor Zulum for providing an enabling environment for the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
Through a voice vote, APC members from the three local government areas unanimously affirmed Hon. Usman Zannah as the party’s consensus candidate.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and APC national headquarters monitored the exercise.
The governor was accompanied by APC consensus governorship candidate, Engr. Mustapha Gubio, Secretary to the State Government, Bukar Tijani, and the Acting Chief of Staff, Dr. Babagana Mustapha Mallumbe.
