The governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, in Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of engaging in questionable dealings following the omission of his name and that of his running mate from the list of candidates for the forthcoming governorship election.
Gwarzo expressed concern over the development, alleging that the electoral commission failed to provide any convincing explanation for excluding both names despite their claim to have fulfilled all the necessary requirements.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News, the NDC candidate said INEC published the list of governorship candidates on October 10, 2026, but his name and that of his running mate were missing.
He explained that the omission came as a surprise because the party believed it had complied with all the requirements stipulated by the commission for participation in the election.
According to Gwarzo, he emerged as the NDC’s consensus governorship candidate in Kano State and encountered no objections or complications regarding his candidacy before the publication of the list.
He said the party subsequently approached INEC to seek clarification over the omission but received no satisfactory response from the commission.
Gwarzo disclosed that they later learnt that some individuals had approached the Kano State High Court to challenge his candidacy and were seeking an interim order to prevent the publication of his name.
He, however, questioned why INEC had already excluded their names from the October 10 list before the court proceedings and the subsequent order restraining the commission from publishing them.
The NDC candidate further explained that a court case was filed on October 17, while the court issued an order on October 27 directing INEC not to publish their names as governorship candidates.
He said the timing of the events had raised serious questions about the commission’s handling of the matter, particularly because the omission occurred before the court order was issued.
The politician said the commission’s failure to clarify the situation from the beginning had deepened their suspicion about the circumstances surrounding the omission.
Expressing his dissatisfaction, Gwarzo said, “There appears to be an understanding behind the scenes between INEC and people with other interests.”
He described the situation as disturbing, insisting that the commission should be transparent in its dealings with political parties and candidates, particularly in matters affecting their constitutional rights to participate in elections.
He maintained that the NDC had fulfilled the necessary conditions for his nomination and questioned why the commission did not communicate any concerns before leaving his name and that of his running mate out of the published list.