The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas was on Saturday returned unopposed as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Zaria Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Speaker was returned through an affirmation by the APC registered members in the 13 electoral wards of Zaria Federal Constituency.
The 13 electoral wards are Kwarbai A, Kwarbai B, Limancin-Kona, Unguwar Fatika, Unguwar Juma, Dutsen Abba, Gyallesu, Kufena, Dambo, Wuchichiri, Tudun Wada, Tukur-Tukur, and Kaura.
This is even as the Speaker announced that he would continue to work assiduously to justify the confidence reposed in him by his constituents, saying he will never disappoint them, noting, “My best days as your representative are ahead.”
The exercise, which took place at the 13 electoral wards simultaneously, began at about 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Thousands of APC members at the federal constituency trooped to the various offices of the party at the electoral wards for the exercise.
At the Kwarbai B APC office, which is the Speaker’s ward, the exercise was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere. According to Nafiu Sabo, APC secretary at the ward, Kwarbai B has over 10,000 registered members, but only 220 were cleared to vote.
The Kwarbai B Ward exercise was conducted by Malam Iliyasu Muhammad Balarabe, who is the APC returning officer for the ward, with Speaker Abbas present.
Before calling for affirmation, Malam Balarabe informed the gathering that, based on the document handed to him by the national leadership of APC, there was only one aspirant who purchased a form and cleared for the Zaria Federal Constituency.
When he called for affirmation, all the cleared APC members for Kwarbai B affirmed that Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen has been returned as the party’s candidate for the federal constituency. The exercise followed a similar pattern in the remaining electoral wards of the federal constituency.
At the collation centre for the Zaria Federal Constituency, the APC Returning Officer for the Zaria Federal Constituency for the party’s primary elections into the House of Reps, Dr Hamisu Ibrahim Drau, announced a total of 1,376 APC members across the 13 wards affirmed Speaker Abbas as the party’s flagbearer.
He said, “There are 13 wards in Zaria Federal Constituency, and there is only one person who bought a form, screened, and cleared. He is Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen. To fulfil all the requirements, we went to all the wards and conducted affirmation. INEC officials and party officials are here. The exercise was conducted peacefully.
“Thousands of party faithful gathered, but we only counted 1,376. I hereby announce Dr Abbas Tajudeen as the APC flagbearer for Zaria Federal Constituency. I, Dr Hamisu Ibrahim, hereby certify that the information contained in this document is correct. Congratulations!” he said.
The chairman of the APC House of Reps primary elections in Kaduna State, Senator Yakubu Oseni, in a goodwill message said, based on the outcome of the primary, Speaker Abbas is loved by his people.
He described the Speaker as a leader with listening ears. He expressed optimism that Speaker Abbas would easily win in the general elections.
A breakdown of the results from the 13 wards is as follows: Kwarbai A, 97; Kwarbai B, 220; Unguwar Juma, 98; Limancin-Kona, 97; Kaura, 95; Tudun Wada, 96; Gyallesu, 95; Unguwar Fatika, 92; Tukur-Tukur, 97; Dambo, 98; Wuchichiri, 97; Dutsen Abba, 100, and Kufena, 94. He gave the total as 1,376.
The exercise was monitored/observed by the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Meanwhile, speaking shortly after being declared the winner unopposed, Speaker Abbas thanked the APC members in Zaria Federal Constituency for affirming him as the party’s candidate.
He said he would ensure that the people of the constituency get the best representation, calling on them to support President Bola Tinubu, Governor Uba Sani and all the candidates of APC during the 2027 general elections.
