Henzodaily.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering elections, politics, and governance in Nigeria.
Kano, Kano state – The next Kano governorship election will take place in 2027, to elect the governor of the state, concurrent with elections to the Kano state house of assembly as well as several other gubernatorial polls and votings to all other state houses of assembly.
Incumbent New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, can seek re-election to a second term.
Political titans are believed to be already strategising and preparing for what promises to be a showdown in Kano.
Photo credits: @barauijibrin, @AbubakarmusaDK1, @BawaBichi77179
Source: Twitter
Party primaries for the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the ruling NNPP would most likely be held in 2026.
In this report, Henzodaily.ng looks at five major likely contenders in the opposition APC in Kano state.
2027: Likely APC contenders in Kano
Nasir Gawuna
Gawuna was deputy to former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who is the current national chairman of the APC.
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In May 2022, he became the governorship candidate of the APC for the 2023 Kano state governorship election.
A factor that may work against Gawuna is that after losing the election, his political presence is not being strongly felt.
Murtala Sule Garo
Garo is another contender to look out for. In the build-up to the 2023 governorship election, he was the running mate to the APC governorship flag bearer, Gawuna. At that time, he was said to be eyeing the governorship seat but was pacified to drop the ambition to become the running mate of Gawuna.
Abubakar Bichi
Bichi is a current member representing Bichi federal constituency in the house of representatives and chairman, house committee on appropriations.
Bichi is a major contender in the APC and a candidate Ganduje may anoint. The Kano APC chairman, Abdullahi Abass, may also bless his aspiration if he chooses to run.
Inuwa Waya
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Waya resigned from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to vie for the governorship ticket of the APC in 2023.
Waya lost out due to Ganduje’s singular action of anointing Gawuna as the candidate of the party.
Senator Barau Jibrin
Among the major contenders in the APC is the Deputy Senate President Barau, who represents Kano North senatorial district.
Over time, Senator Barau has continued to position himself for the exalted seat with several interventions. His interventions are spread across the state. This is giving him an edge over other contenders in the party. He has been welcoming bigwigs and other members of the NNPP among others to the APC.
Read more Kano-related stories:
Kano commissioner resigns suddenly
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Earlier, Henzodaily.ng reported that the Kano state commissioner for transportation, Engr. Muhammad Diggol tendered his resignation letter “with immediate effect”.
Diggol was initially and at the inception of Governor Yusuf’s administration in 2023 appointed as commissioner for transportation but was affected by the cabinet reshuffle as he was later reassigned to the ministry of project monitoring and evaluation, where he served until his resignation.
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Source: Henzodaily.ng