By Zubairu Idris
No fewer than 14 political parties have fielded candidates for governorshipl election in Kano state in 2023.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the list of the political parties and their candidates were pasted at the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kano State.
The list of deputy governorship candidates were also displayed, which is in line with the provision of the electoral law.
The State House of Assembly candidates were also pasted at INEC offices at each of the 40 constituencies in the state.
The political parties included APC, PDP, New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Allied Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Others are Social Democratic Party (SDP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Labour Party (LP), National Rescue Party (NRP) and African Democratic Congress (ADP).
The remaining are APGA, Action Alliance (AA) and African Action Congress (AAC).
Aishatu Mahmud of NRP is the only female candidate contesting for the governorship seat, while Fatima Muhammad is the only Deputy Governor candidate contesting under the Action Alliance (AA).
The renown Islamic scholar in Kano, Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil is among the governorship candidates who is contesting under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Also, Kano State Deputy Governor, Dr Nasiru Yusuf-Gawuna, is the APC candidate, while Alhaji Abba Kabir-Yusuf, popularly called “Abba Gida-gida”, is contesting on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).
NAN also observed that name of Sadiq Wali appeared in the list as PDP candidate, instead of Mohammed Abacha, who was earlier mentioned by the commission as the party candidate.
Responding on the issue, the INEC Public Relations Officer, Mr Adam Ahmad-Maulud, said that the duty of INEC was to supervise conduct of party primary elections.
“It is the responsibility of the parties to submit names of their candidates to INEC.
“And these are the names political parties submitted to INEC as their governorship candidates in Kano state, which we received from INEC in Abuja,” he said.(NAN)
