A former lawmaker, who represented Osun West Senatorial District in the Senate, Senator Mudashiru Hussein, on Wednesday, won the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress for the July 8 bye-election in the senatorial district.
The seat was declared vacant following the demise of the first civilian governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who represented Osun West Senatorial District, on April 23 at Bicket Hospital in Osogbo.
Hussein, said to be the preferred candidate of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, had been disqualified on two occasions on Sunday by the Sanusi Rikiji-led screening committee set up by the party leadership and the Appeal committee. But the screening committee cleared Hussein’s opponent, Dr. Ademola Adeleke, the younger brother to Isiaka Adeleke.
But the National Working Committee of the APC upturned Hussein’s disqualification.
Due to this, Ademola Adeleke, who faulted the screening process, withdrew his aspiration for the senatorial race under the APC and also resigned from the party.
He defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, where he emerged the party’s standard bearer.
But in the APC primary election scheduled for Wednesday at Egbedore Local Government Area of the state, Hussein, who had resigned his position as Commissioner for Cabinet Matters, was declared winner of the election.
Rikiji, Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, at the end of the primary election, announced that Hussein polled 2, 412 out of the 2,413 total valid votes.
Rikiji also said 2, 560 delegates participated in the primary.
