Sola Ojo, Kaduna
A former member of House of Representatives, Isa Ashiru Kudan, on Monday, emerged the flag-bearer of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ahead the 2019 gubernatorial election in Kaduna State.
Ashiru, a one-time All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant, who was the first runner up in the 2015 primaries that produced Governor Nasir el-Rufai, is once again the major force against the governor who will be seeking reelection in 2019.
Ashiru raked-in 1,330 of the 2,654 delegates that voted at the primaries election held at the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex along Kaduna-Zaria dual carriage way.
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A former Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mohammed Sani Sidi, finished with 569 votes while Senator representing Kaduna North Senatorial District, Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi pulled 564 votes.
However, the immediate past governor of the State, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, got 36 votes while Kaduna business mogul, Shuaibi Idris Miqati, got 16 votes.
Announcing the results, on Monday afternoon, the Chairman of the 2018 Kaduna Gubernatorial Primaries, Philip Aivoji said, the election, which lasted well over 24 hours, was transparent and fair to all parties involved.
Meanwhile, there were 39 invalid votes at the end of the keenly contested primaries expected to be accepted by all parties and their loyalists.