Prominent supporters of the 2027 vice presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, have rejected reports that the party leadership has moved to replace some candidates loyal to the Kwankwasiyya Movement in Kano State.
The controversy follows reports that the NDC allegedly replaced several candidates earlier submitted by the Kwankwasiyya faction after the party’s recent primaries, citing an alleged breach of a power-sharing agreement within the party.
According to a document reportedly signed by the Kano State Chairman of the NDC, Hon. Hussaini Isah Mairiga, the changes were made to align with an earlier agreement on the sharing of party positions and elective tickets between the existing NDC structure and the Kwankwasiyya bloc.
The document, which was reportedly copied to the party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, Kwankwasiyya leader Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the NDC North-West Zonal Chairman, contained adjustments to the list of candidates for both the National Assembly and the Kano State House of Assembly.
However, the Kwankwasiyya Movement has dismissed the development, describing it as unconfirmed and insisting that all candidates from the group emerged through transparent and lawful processes.
Speaking with journalists on Monday, the National Spokesperson of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Habib Mai-Lemo, said the group was treating the report as a rumour until official communication was received.
Mai-Lemo maintained that the affected candidates emerged either through consensus arrangements or primary elections conducted in accordance with party guidelines.
“I also saw on social media that some candidates are being dropped a week after the primaries were conducted,” he said.
“It was not Kwankwaso that sold nomination forms; it was the party. Therefore, all the required processes were followed, whether through consensus or primary election.”
He stressed that aspirants from the Kwankwasiyya camp participated fully in the nomination process and that no objections were raised during the exercise.
“All our candidates participated in the processes from start to finish. While the processes were going on, we never received any complaints from anybody. We didn’t block anybody from buying forms because, in the first place, we didn’t sell the forms,” he stated.
Mai-Lemo further questioned the basis for the alleged substitutions, noting that both the party leadership in Kano and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were involved throughout the candidate selection process.
“All the candidates followed due process. We don’t know where this issue is coming from, but we are waiting to see if it is true or not because we have not received a copy of the letter allegedly signed by the State Chairman of the NDC,” he added.
“We know that the state chairman was part of the process. He was there when consensus took place, and even INEC was there. So, for now, we are treating it as a rumour.”
The reported development has sparked concerns within the party ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly in Kano State, where the Kwankwasiyya Movement remains one of the most influential political blocs.
