Adedokun Waliyu 
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa State, on Wednesday, conducted a fresh primary election to replace its deceased senatorial candidate, Tijjani Ibrahim.
Mr Ibrahim died on 13 August, three months after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the APC primary election for the Jigawa Southwest District.
The politician polled 361 votes. He was the lone contestant in the election.
Sabo Muhammed, the incumbent senator of the district, emerged as the new candidate of the party for the district in the election held at the Aminu Kano Triangle in Dutse.
The head of the election committee, Shehu Umar, while declaring Mr Muhammad the winner of the election, said he was unanimously elected after scoring the entire 375 votes cast during the election.
Mr Muhammad thanked the delegates, party leaders and the governor of the state, Muhammad Badaru, for their support.
“I hope and pray that we will win the forthcoming election,” he said. “My promise to you (members of his constituents) is that I will not let you down.”
Mr Muhammed was one of those accused by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) of multi-million fraud including converting public property for personal use in a constituency project scam and cornering a contract for the supplies of water rigs to his constituency.
The ICPC said the senator awarded the contracts for the construction of hand-pump boreholes and supplies of water pumps, motorcycles and two Toyota Hilux trucks in Jigawa South-West Senatorial District to Schramm Global Services Ltd, a company owned and operated by two of his siblings.
The two trucks, the ICPC report adds, “procured as constituency projects since 2016” would later be discovered and recovered from the contractor “who is also a younger brother of the sponsor”.
The Jigawa Southwest District consists of seven Local Government Areas – Dutse, Buji, Birnin Kudu, Gwaram, Kiyawa, Jahun, and Miga. It has 75 political wards.
