Kano guber: Kwankwaso’s anointed candidate, Gwarzo, missing from INEC final list

National Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, is missing from the final list of governorship candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The list, signed by INEC Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, contains 17 governorship candidates and their running mates from political parties contesting the election in Kano State but does not include Gwarzo or any candidate of the NDC.

A review of the three-page document by TRIBUNE ONLINE shows that the candidates listed include Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abacha Muhammed Sani of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and candidates from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and other political parties.

Other parties represented on the list include the Action Alliance (AA), African Action Congress (AAC), Action Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and New Democratic Party (NDP), amongst others.

Gwarzo’s absence from the list comes amid Kwankwaso’s political involvement in the NDC, where the former Kano governor has been associated with efforts to position the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

In Gombe State, Pantami’s name is also missing from INEC’s final list despite his emergence as the PDP governorship candidate following a fresh primary election.

Pantami’s candidacy had been challenged in court by an aspirant, Usman Aliyu Garry, who disputed the process through which the former minister initially emerged as the party’s flagbearer. The Federal High Court in Gombe subsequently nullified the initial nomination and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh primary.

Pantami later contested the fresh primary and emerged as the party’s candidate again. His absence from the final list has therefore raised further questions about the status of the PDP ticket in Gombe.

In Ogun State, Adebutu and his running mate, Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, are also missing from INEC’s final list.

Adebutu’s candidacy has been the subject of questions over compliance with electoral requirements, including the submission of party membership registers. The Ogun PDP has maintained that its candidate met the relevant requirements and has disputed allegations concerning his eligibility.

The three cases have drawn attention to the legal and administrative requirements governing political party primaries, membership registers and the submission of candidates’ particulars to INEC.

However, the circumstances surrounding the three omissions are not necessarily the same, and INEC’s published lists do not, by themselves, establish the specific reasons for excluding the candidates.

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