Breaking: NDC suffers major setback as INEC dumps its Kano guber candidate
- INEC dropped Kano State NDC governorship candidate Aminu Gwarzo from its final list of governorship candidates
- The exclusion may be connected to a Supreme Court ruling that reaffirmed a key provision of the Electoral Act 2026
- The judgment sets out strict conditions on party membership registers that candidates must meet before they can contest primaries
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded Aminu Gwarzo, the NDC governorship candidate in Kano State, from its final list of governorship candidates.
INEC did not publicly state the specific reason for dropping Gwarzo, but the decision is believed to be connected to a Supreme Court ruling in the case of INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, which confirmed the continued validity of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026.
What the Supreme Court ruling says
The judgment reinforced a requirement that political parties must submit their membership registers to INEC no later than 21 days before any primary, congress, or convention is held. Under this rule, only individuals whose names appear in that duly submitted register can vote or be voted for during such internal party processes.
Where a party fails to meet this condition, or where a candidate's name does not appear in the submitted register, that candidate's participation in the primary becomes legally questionable, and INEC may act on that basis when compiling its final list.
Gwarzo's exclusion and its implications
Gwarzo's removal from the final list means he cannot contest the governorship election in Kano State on the NDC platform. The NDC had ratified Peter Obi as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections on May 29, 2026, following his resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on May 2, 2026, making the party's performance in upcoming governorship races a closely watched matter.
The Supreme Court's position in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party makes clear that compliance with membership register requirements is not a procedural formality but a statutory condition tied directly to eligibility. Candidates and parties that overlook this requirement risk having their participation nullified at any stage of the electoral process.
See the report of the exclusion on X here:
Source: Legit.ng
