Kano guber: Why NDC’s Gwarzo is absent from updated list — INEC

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified that it has no objection to the candidacy of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano, Abdulsalam Gwarzo, saying his absence from the updated list of candidates is due to a subsisting court order.

A senior official of the commission disclosed that Gwarzo had been cleared by INEC, but his name could not be published pending the final determination of an ex parte order issued by the Federal High Court in Kano on October 27.

The official explained that the court had directed the commission not to publish the names of candidates presented by the NDC until the matter was determined.

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“I thought I told you he had been cleared, subject only to the final outcome of an ex parte order by a Federal High Court in Kano on October 27 that we should not download the name of any candidate for NDC,” the official said.

The clarification followed concerns over the continued omission of Gwarzo and his running mate, Rabiu Mustapha, from INEC’s updated list of governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the 2027 elections.

In the updated list, the commission indicated “Court Order” against the NDC’s governorship and deputy governorship positions in Kano State.

Gwarzo’s omission had raised questions about the status of his candidacy,
particularly after INEC announced that it had reviewed petitions arising from the omission of some candidates from its initial list published on October 10.

On Thursday, the commission upheld 66 petitions and rejected 64 others relating to governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates across the country.

Among those whose candidacies were cleared was former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, whose name was subsequently included in the list as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Gombe State.

However, INEC’s latest clarification indicates that Gwarzo’s absence from the updated list should not be interpreted as a rejection of his candidacy, but rather as compliance with the subsisting court order.

The publication of the NDC’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates in Kano will therefore depend on the final determination of the court proceedings.