Just In: INEC Certifies Bashir Machina Winner Of Yobe North APC Senatorial Primary, Sidesteps Ahmad Lawan

The Commission has recognised Machina as the winner of the governing All Progressives Congress primary for Yobe North Senatorial District ticket.

A certified true copy of INEC's report from the May 28, 2022, election showed Mr Machina scored 289 votes out of 300 delegates.

This tallies with Machina's repeated public claim that he won the primary election and remained the party's candidate and not the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who did not participate in the senatorial district primary election.

The document, certified by the electoral office on June 23, 2022, did not mention Ahmad Lawan, the Senate President who has been labouring to supplant Mr Machina in collusion with the party's national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

Adamu had listed Lawan as the candidate of the APC for Yobe North senatorial election slated for February 2023, claiming that a primary poll had secretly held in which Lawan purportedly emerged winner.

Even though Machina has been certified winner by the electoral office, he still expects additional fights ahead when INEC will post candidates standing for election across different political parties in the coming weeks.

INEC had said it lacked the powers to pick a candidate in an election, even though its authentication was necessary to certify that an election held.

Lawan started making attempts to seize the ticket from Machina after losing at the ruling party's presidential convention, which was won handily by Bola Tinubu on June 8.