Gwarzo Accuses Kano Govt Of Plotting To Exclude Him From 2027 Race

Kano State governorship candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Abdulsalam Gwarzo, has accused the state government of plotting to prevent his participation in the 2027 election.

Gwarzo alleged that some officials of the state government, in collaboration with individuals linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC), orchestrated a court action to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from publishing his name and that of his running mate, Mustapha Kwankwaso.

He made the allegation during an interview on Arise Television, which was monitored by LEADERSHIP.

The NDC candidate expressed concern over the omission of their names from the list of governorship candidates released by INEC on 10th October, saying the commission had not raised any issues regarding their compliance with electoral and party requirements.

He said the party later discovered that some individuals had approached the Federal High Court in Kano on 17th October, seeking an interim injunction to restrain INEC from publishing their names.

According to him, the court granted the ex parte order on 27th October, but he questioned why INEC waited until 29th October to inform the affected candidates that a court order was responsible for their exclusion.

Gwarzo alleged that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) associated with the APC and the party’s state legal adviser were behind the court action, describing the circumstances as suspicious.

“What is beating our imagination is, in the first place, on 10 October, why did INEC refuse to publish our names? Why did INEC have to wait until 29 October to tell the whole world that our names were not published because of an ex parte order from the court?” he asked.

He further alleged that the development suggested a possible understanding between some vested interests, the state government and INEC.

Gwarzo, however, said neither he nor his running mate had been served with the court order, adding that the NDC was also not served with the originating processes.

He disclosed that the party had filed a separate suit against INEC, seeking an order compelling the commission to include their names on the list of candidates.

He added that they would also apply to be joined as interested parties in the suit that produced the interim order.

“We are going to confront the ex parte order. We are challenging it, and from the documents and processes available to us, we have gone through the process cleanly and clearly,” he said.

Gwarzo expressed confidence that the legal process would resolve the matter, insisting that neither he nor his running mate had violated any electoral requirement.