The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dropped the name of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, from its updated list of candidates for the 2027 elections, with the commission citing a court order as the reason for his continued exclusion.
A check on the INEC website showed that both Gwarzo and his running mate were absent from the updated list, with the remarks column against their entries reading "Court Order."
Clearance Reversed by Court Order
The development, according to Daily Trust, reverses what had appeared to be a positive turn for the NDC candidate. INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna had earlier confirmed that Gwarzo's petition over his initial omission was successful, but added that publishing his name depended on "the final outcome of an ex-parte order by a Kano federal high court."
On October 29, reports indicated that INEC had cleared Gwarzo's petition, along with that of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, and several other candidates whose names had been left off the first list published on October 10, 2026. That clearance, however, was explicitly conditional on the resolution of pending legal proceedings, Vanguard noted.
NDC's Kano Race in Fresh Doubt
The NDC had gone to a Federal High Court in Abuja on October 27 seeking a court order to compel INEC to include its candidate's name on the gubernatorial list. The party had argued that Gwarzo met all requirements for participation and initially suggested his absence from the list was caused by a computer error.
INEC, for its part, explained that its decisions on the candidate list were shaped by legal requirements around political parties' submission of membership registers, following a Supreme Court judgment delivered on September 24 on the Electoral Act 2026.
Uncertain Future for NDC in Kano
With the updated list now maintaining Gwarzo's exclusion on the basis of a court order, the NDC's chances of fielding a candidate in the Kano governorship race remain uncertain. The party had previously protested his omission and expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved in its favour.
