# 2023 Nigerian Senate elections in Katsina State

The 2023 Nigerian Senate elections in Katsina State will be held on 25 February 2023, to elect the 3 federal Senators from Katsina State, one from each of the state's three senatorial districts. The elections will coincide with the 2023 presidential election, as well as other elections to the Senate and elections to the House of Representatives; with state elections being held two weeks later. Primaries were held between 4 April and 9 June 2022.

## Background

In the previous Senate elections, only one incumbent senator was returned: in the North district, Ahmad Babba Kaita (APC) was re-elected but Umaru Ibrahim Kurfi (APC-Central) lost renomination and Abu Ibrahim (APC-South) retired. In the North district, Babba Kaita held his seat with 70% of the vote; both of the open seats were won by APC as Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya won the Central district with 72% and Bello Mandiya gained the South seat with 72% of the vote as well. These results were a part of a slight swing to the Katsina APC as most House of Representatives seats were won by the party, it won a majority in the House of Assembly, and Buhari won the state in the presidential election.

## Overview

| Affiliation | Party | Party | Total |
| Affiliation | APC | PDP | Total |
| Previous Election | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Before Election | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| After Election | 3 | 0 | 3 |

## Summary

| District | Incumbent | Incumbent | Results | Results |
| District | Incumbent | Party | Status | Candidates |
| Katsina Central | Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya | APC | Incumbent lost renomination New member elected APC hold | ▌Y Abdul'aziz Musa Yar'adua (APC) ▌Sirajo Aminu Makera (PDP) |
| Katsina North | Ahmad Babba Kaita | PDP | Incumbent lost re-election New member elected APC gain | ▌Y Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura (APC) ▌Ahmad Babba Kaita (PDP) |
| Katsina South | Bello Mandiya | APC | Incumbent lost renomination New member elected APC hold | ▌Y Mohammed Muntari Dandutse (APC) ▌Babangida Ibrahim (NNPP) ▌Shehu Garba Matazu (PDP) |

## Katsina Central

The Katsina Central Senatorial District covers the local government areas of Batagarawa, Batsari, Charanchi, Dan Musa, Dutsin-Ma, Jibia, Kaita, Katsina, Kurfi, Rimi, and Safana. The district is centered around the city of Katsina and is sometimes referred to as the "Katsina Zone." Incumbent Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya (APC) was elected with 72.4% of the vote in 2019. Abdullahi Barkiya sought re-election but lost renomination.

### Primary elections
#### All Progressives Congress

On the primary date, an indirect primary ended with the nomination of Abdul'aziz Musa Yar'adua—a retired Army colonel and brother of former President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua—emerging as the nominee by over former Senator Umaru Ibrahim Kurfi and incumbent Abdullahi Barkiya.
APC primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | APC | Abdul'aziz Musa Yar'adua | 310 | 53.64% |
| | APC | Umaru Ibrahim Kurfi | 197 | 34.08% |
| | APC | Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya | 70 | 12.11% |
| | APC | Binta Abba | 1 | 0.17% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 578 | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 579 | 100.00% |

#### People's Democratic Party

The primary resulted in the nomination of Sirajo Aminu Makera—former General Manager of the Katsina Housing Authority—over Hamisu Gambo by a margin of 40%.
PDP primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | PDP | Sirajo Aminu Makera | 213 | 63.39% |
| | PDP | Hamisu Gambo | 78 | 23.22% |
| | PDP | Musa Muhammad Sada | 45 | 13.39% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 336 | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 22 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 358 | 100.00% |

### General election
#### Results

2023 Katsina Central Senatorial District election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | % |
| | ADC | M. Yusuf Garwa Mannir | |
| | APC | Abdul'aziz Musa Yar'adua | |
| | NRM | Zainab Yusuf Mohammed | |
| | New Nigeria Peoples Party | Abubakar Jalli Gambo | |
| | PRP | Gide Aminu Yar'adua | |
| | PDP | Sirajo Aminu Makera | |
| | SDP | Mohammed Mustapha Kurfi | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |

## Katsina North

The Katsina North Senatorial District covers the local government areas of Baure, Bindawa, Daura, Dutsi, Nigeria, Ingawa, Kankia, Kusada, Mai'Adua, Mani, Mashi, Sandamu, and Zango. The district is centered around the city of Daura and is sometimes referred to as the "Daura Zone." The incumbent Ahmad Babba Kaita (PDP) was re-elected with 70.3% of the vote in 2019 as a member of the APC; he defected to the PDP in April 2022. He is running for re-election.

### Primary elections
#### All Progressives Congress

The primary resulted in a sizable win for Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura—House of Representatives member for Zango/Baure and son of former minister Sani Zangon Daura—over Mustapha Mahmud Kanti Bello—former Commissioner for Rural Development and son of former Senator Mahmud Kanti Bello. Zangon Daura won the majority of delegates' votes from every LGA except Ingawa and Mai'Adua, the delegates of both LGAs were won by Bello.
APC primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | APC | Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura | 486 | 77.14% |
| | APC | Mustapha Mahmud Kanti Bello | 144 | 22.86% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 630 | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 630 | Unknown |

#### People's Democratic Party

About a month before the primary, incumbent Senator Babba Kaita left the APC and joined the PDP after weeks of speculation; observers noted the negative relationship between Babba Kaita and Governor Aminu Bello Masari as a key reason for the defection. On the primary date, the sole screened candidate—Babba Kaita—gained the nomination unopposed. After the process, Babba Kaita thanked the party for welcoming him and pledged to bring in development projects to the district.

### Campaign

In the aftermath of party primaries, ThisDay analysis focused on the wave of defections from several of district's APC politicians to the PDP, NNPP, and SDP. By February, pundits noted how the incumbent APC state and federal administrations had helped Zangon Daura but the unpopularity of the APC hurt his campaign; for Babba Kaita, positive views of his tenure were thought to help him but the crisis within the Katsina PDP served as a detriment to his campaign.

### General election
#### Results

2023 Katsina North Senatorial District election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | % |
| | ADC | Zara Amadu | |
| | APC | Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura | |
| | New Nigeria Peoples Party | Abdu Yandoma | |
| | PRP | Ibrahim Mamuda | |
| | PDP | Ahmad Babba Kaita | |
| | SDP | Mustapha Abba | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |

## Katsina South

The Katsina South Senatorial District covers the local government areas of Bakori, Dandume, Danja, Faskari, Funtua, Kafur, Kankara, Malumfashi, Matazu, Musawa, and Sabuwa. The district is centered around the city of Funtua and is sometimes referred to as the "Funtua Zone." Incumbent Bello Mandiya (APC) was elected with 72.4% of the vote in 2019 and sought re-election but lost the APC nomination.

### Primary elections
#### All Progressives Congress

The primary ended in the nomination of Mohammed Muntari Dandutse—House of Representatives member for Funtua/Dandume—over incumbent Mandiya by a margin of 53%.
APC primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | APC | Mohammed Muntari Dandutse | 405 | 76.70% |
| | APC | Bello Mandiya | 123 | 23.30% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 528 | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 534 | 100.00% |

#### People's Democratic Party

The primary ended in the nomination of Shehu Garba Matazu—former House of Representatives member for Matazu/Musawa—over Sani Anani by a margin of 51%.
PDP primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | PDP | Shehu Garba Matazu | 267 | 75.64% |
| | PDP | Sani Anani | 86 | 24.36% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 353 | 100.00% |

### General election
#### Results

2023 Katsina South Senatorial District election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | % |
| | ADC | Sa'idu Abdulhafiz | |
| | APC | Mohammed Muntari Dandutse | |
| | New Nigeria Peoples Party | Babangida Ibrahim | |
| | PRP | Magaji Dansarai Aliyu | |
| | PDP | Shehu Garba Matazu | |
| | SDP | Lawa Kasimu Funtua | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |