Kano NDC Governorship Candidate Alleges INEC Excluded Him From Ballot

Aminu Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Kano State governor, has alleged improper conduct by the Independent National Electoral Commission after both he and his deputy candidate were left off the official list for the coming governorship election.

Gwarzo said the electoral body had not provided a credible reason for excluding the pair, despite the party’s position that it met every condition required to contest.

Disputed candidate list

1. INEC released its list of governorship contestants on October 10, 2026, but it did not include Gwarzo or his running mate.
2. Gwarzo said the omission was unexpected because the NDC believed it had completed all procedures set by the commission for participation in the poll.
3. He said he had been selected as the NDC’s consensus candidate in Kano State, with no prior objections or apparent disputes over his nomination before the list was published.
4. The party then contacted INEC to ask why the names had been omitted, but Gwarzo said it received no adequate explanation.

Court challenge and timing questions

The candidate said the party later became aware that certain individuals had gone to the Kano State High Court to contest his nomination and seek a temporary injunction stopping INEC from listing him.

1. Gwarzo said the legal action challenging his candidacy was filed on October 17.
2. On October 27, the court issued an order barring INEC from publishing the names of Gwarzo and his running mate as governorship candidates.
3. He questioned why INEC had already omitted them from the October 10 publication, well before the lawsuit was filed and before the restraining order was granted.

He said the sequence of events had fuelled concerns about the commission’s management of the issue, particularly because the exclusion preceded the court directive. INEC’s failure to explain the matter at the outset, he added, had intensified the NDC’s doubts over the circumstances surrounding the decision.

“There appears to be an understanding behind the scenes between INEC and people with other interests,” Gwarzo said.

He described the development as troubling and argued that the electoral commission must deal openly with parties and candidates, especially where their constitutional right to stand for election is involved.

Gwarzo reiterated that the NDC had satisfied the requirements for his nomination and asked why INEC had not raised any concern before excluding his name and that of his running mate from the published candidate list.