Gov. Sani’s political adviser admits to election rigging in Kaduna

Abubakar Mamadi, Special Adviser on Political Matters to Kaduna State Governor, has sparked controversy after openly admitting to manipulating elections for the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

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Mr Mamadi, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Igabi Federal Constituency, also suggested that the alleged irregularities that characterised the APC primaries in Kaduna State could be repeated during the 2027 general elections.

He made the remarks while reacting to comments by former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, , who had questioned the electoral viability of some candidates produced by the party.

While accusing party leaders of injustice and intimidation, Zailani, who lost the APC senatorial ticket for Kaduna Central to , alleged that the primary process was manipulated.

“They went and gave tickets to people who cannot win elections. What they did clearly shows they do not want President Tinubu to win the 2027 election. It is important that we let the cat out of the bag and inform Mr. President that these people are deceiving him and cannot deliver Kaduna for him,” Zailani said.

“These threats are unnecessary because nobody can intimidate me. If you rigged the primaries, do you think you can rig the general election? The masses will resist you,” he added.

Responding while hosting APC stakeholders from Igabi on Thursday, Mamadi recalled what he described as their past involvement in manipulating election results in the area, implying that similar actions could occur in future elections.

“I saw a video of the former Speaker making some claims. I took note of three claims he made in the video,” Mamadi said.

“First, he said the primary election results were written and concocted and therefore we cannot win the general election. But I want us to use our bra ins, since we are not drug addicts.

“I also want to remind him how both of us, alongside some other people, rigged elections — not only primaries but general elections — in the past.

“We wrote election results in Igabi, not once, not twice. If he has forgotten, it is important to remind him that we wrote election results many times in Igabi. I am talking about general elections, not primaries. So if he is still thinking about primaries, we have also written general election results,” he said.

Mamadi also referenced alleged past encounters with law enforcement agencies involving the former Speaker.

“Secondly, I also saw him boasting that he is not afraid of anybody or being arrested. Let me remind him how both of us once sneaked away to evade arrest after we received invitation letters from the Commissioner of Police. So now he is boasting that nobody can arrest him — who is he fooling?

“When he was also invited by the EFCC, I personally saw how he was sweating and looking frustrated. So why is he now boasting that nobody can do anything to him?” he said.

The governor’s aide further dismissed Zailani’s criticisms as the reaction of a politician struggling to come to terms with electoral defeat.

“Let me tell him that we are strong enough to deal with him even without federal intervention. I want to plead with stakeholders in Igabi to ignore him and not be bothered by his outbursts. He is envious and pained by defeat.

“He has spent 20 years occupying a particular political position and is now being confronted with the reality that he may lose that seat. Change, even in the scriptures, is inevitable,” Mamadi added.

The comments have since generated reactions within political circles in Kaduna State, with observers raising concerns over the implications of the remarks on the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.