The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kano State says a technical error kept its governorship candidate off the Independent National Electoral Commission’s published list. The party expects the problem to be fixed by Tuesday.
The affected candidates are Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, the governorship candidate, and his running mate, Mustapha Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. Neither name appeared when INEC released its list of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
State chairman Hussaini Isah Mairiga spoke about the omission in a telephone interview. He insisted that Gwarzo and Kwankwaso remain the party’s flag bearers. He also said he had been in touch with the party officials who handle the uploads. In addition, he said he was talking to INEC officials at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
“By Tuesday, Insha Allah, everything will be okay. People will see our candidate’s name,” he said.
Mairiga added that Kano is not the only state affected. According to him, NDC candidates in Kaduna State were also left off. In Katsina State, one candidate first appeared as a placeholder before the name was corrected.
He also dismissed any suggestion that the Kano candidates are ineligible. Both men, he said, meet the party’s membership requirements. “Our candidate has his membership card. If somebody is not a member of the party, he cannot contest. His name is already there; he does not have any problem,” he said.
The gap is not limited to the governorship ticket. Mairiga confirmed that Nasiru Sule Garo, the party’s Kano North senatorial candidate, is also missing. The party has affirmed him as its candidate and is working to get his name uploaded.
INEC published the list on its website on Saturday evening. It carried the governorship candidates and running mates of 17 political parties. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and his running mate, Murtala Sule Garo, appeared as the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket. Abacha Muhammad Sani and Kibiya Yusuf Ado were listed for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) were also on the list.
INEC’s Kano office did not explain the omission. Hauwa, the state Head of Department for Election and Party Monitoring, said the office had sent all aspirants’ details to the Abuja headquarters. She referred further questions there.
At the time of this report, the commission had not responded. The NDC maintains that the missing names will be uploaded by Tuesday.
