The race for the Kano Central Senatorial District took a fresh dimension as seven aspirants seeking the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket resolved to forgo their ambitions in support of former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.

However, the major alignment that sidelined other interests and produced Shekarau as the APC consensus candidate for the senatorial district came in the absence of Abdulsalam Abdulkarim Zaura, a major contender in the race.

Those said to have sacrificed their political ambitions to support Shekarau are Usman Bala, former Chief of Staff to Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Shaaban Ibrahim Sharada, former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari; Danyaro Yakasai; Abbas Sani Abbas, former commissioner under Ganduje; Abdulfatah Zango, a retired NNPC staff member; and Shehu Isa Driver.

It was gathered that the resolution in favour of Shekarau was reached after a high-level reconciliation meeting convened by Governor Yusuf in Abuja.

At the meeting, aspirants and major stakeholders, with the exception of Zaura who was absent, agreed to close ranks in the interest of unity and progress of the party.

Speaking with The Guardian on the telephone about the outcome of the meeting, Usman Bala, one of the aspirants, revealed that the contenders decided to step down for Shekarau following the intervention of Governor Yusuf, who sought mutual understanding and unity within the party.

Usman Bala noted that all six aspirants unanimously gave up their ambitions after the governor’s peace initiative, describing it as a wise and timely intervention that helped unite all contending interests toward a common goal.

When contacted, however, Zaura denied knowledge of the reconciliation meeting that produced Shekarau as the consensus candidate for Kano Central Senatorial District. He alleged a deliberate move to shut him out of the contest, wondering why he was not invited to the reconciliation meeting in the first place.

“Well, I was not invited, and I was surprised that the meeting was organised without my presence. Do you think if the governor invited me to a meeting I would not attend? For whatever reason, I think I should have been invited. I don’t know why that decision was taken. I was initially told that I should not bother myself with buying the form because the government already had a preferred candidate,” Zaura revealed.

On the next step he intends to take, Zaura maintained that he had no choice but to succumb to the will of God, insisting that although the development had affected his political ambition, he would remain in the party.

“You cannot pursue something that is beyond your ability. I did not purchase the form because I had to follow the governor’s instruction. The initial arrangement was that the governor would buy the form and give it to whoever was chosen as the candidate. So when the governor informed me not to buy the form, I complied,” Zaura said.

Zaura had earlier raised the alarm over an alleged plan to impose Shekarau on other aspirants in the name of consensus, accusing the party of ignoring its earlier promise to conduct a credible process and even resort to primaries if necessary.