By Our Correspondent
National News – The All Progressives Congress on Saturday adopted Architect Usman Banye, a loyalist of Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, as its consensus candidate for the Rimi/Charanchi/Batagarawa Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The primary election took place in Charanchi, Katsina State, where party leaders, delegates and supporters gathered to decide the party’s flag bearer for the House of Representatives seat.
Banye emerged as the APC candidate after two other aspirants officially withdrew from the contest and submitted withdrawal letters before party stakeholders.
The development paved the way for a consensus arrangement endorsed by party leaders across the constituency.
Governor Radda later raised Banye’s hand before supporters, signalling his acceptance as the party’s candidate for the upcoming election.
Speaking during the exercise, Katsina APC Chairman, Bashir Gambo Saulawa, explained that the Electoral Act recognises both direct primaries and consensus arrangements for selecting candidates.
According to him, consensus remains one of the best approaches for maintaining peace, reducing internal disputes and strengthening party unity ahead of major elections.
The Chairman of the APC Consensus Screening Committee for House of Representatives aspirants in the state, Yakubu Maccido, described the primary as peaceful, transparent and well coordinated.
Also, Chairman of the Constituency Consensus Committee, Tasiu Dandagoro, stated that Banye’s emergence followed consultations among stakeholders and the voluntary withdrawal of the other aspirants in the interest of party stability.
Meanwhile, the APC primary for the Daura/Sandamu/Mai’adua Federal Constituency was still ongoing at the time of filing this report.
Reports indicated that Yusuf Buhari, son of former President Muhammadu Buhari, was facing strong opposition from another aspirant, Awual Daura, during the contest.
