Former Kaduna State Governor, Mukhtar Yero, has emerged as the winner of the All Progressives Congress primary election for the Kaduna North Senatorial District.
Yero defeated two other aspirants in the exercise held in Zaria on Monday to secure the APC ticket ahead of the forthcoming general election.
Announcing the result, the Returning Officer, Hassan Saleh, said Yero polled 6,060 votes to defeat Muhammad Mu’azu Mukaddas, who scored 1,044 votes, and Yusuf Bala Ikara, who secured 372 votes.
“I, Hassan Saleh, the Returning Officer of the APC Kaduna North Senatorial District primary election, having certified the provisions of the law, hereby declare Mukhtar Ramalan Yero as the winner of this election,” he stated.
Speaking shortly after the exercise, Yero commended party members and stakeholders for the peaceful conduct of the primary election.
He also extended a hand of fellowship to his co-contestants and urged party members to unite ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We must work together for the overall victory of our great party in the forthcoming general elections,” Yero said.
The former governor thanked party supporters and stakeholders for the confidence reposed in him, pledging to provide quality representation if elected.
“I thank party supporters and stakeholders for the confidence they have shown in me. I will reciprocate the gesture by representing the people positively,” he added.
Yero served as Kaduna State governor between December 15, 2012, and May 29, 2015, after the death of former governor Patrick Yakowa in a helicopter crash in Bayelsa State.
Before becoming governor, he was deputy governor from 2010 and had earlier served as commissioner for finance between 2007 and 2010.
During his administration, Yero oversaw governance in the state during a politically turbulent period marked by security challenges and intense political competition ahead of the 2015 elections.
He eventually lost the 2015 governorship election to former governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of the APC, after which he maintained a relatively low political profile before re-emerging in the current political dispensation.
His victory in the APC senatorial primary is expected to rekindle political contest in the Kaduna North Senatorial District as parties intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections.
