#NigeriaDecides2023: Jibrin, Gaya, Doguwa, others return to Kano ‘battlefield’

Over five million (5,594,193) registered voters are expected to vote in their respective polling units across the 484 political wards in the 44 Local Government Areas of the Kano State in Saturday’s elections.

Apart from voting in the presidential election, voters will also be voting for their representatives in the National Assembly.

At least 15 political parties are fielding candidates for the senatorial and the House of Representatives polls in the state.

The candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and their main challengers – the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) and the People Democratic Party (PDP) – have fielded some of the popular politicians in the state, some of whom are seeking re-election while other are contesting for the first time.

Some of the incumbent lawmakers face stiff opposition.

Below are some of the popular candidates who want represent the people of Kano.

Barau Jibrin APC

Barau Jibrin From Kabo Local Government in the Kano North Senatorial district is the incumbent senator of the zone. Mr Jibrin is gunning to be elected for a third term. Popularly known as ‘Maliya’ (Ocean), he was first elected in 1999 to the House of Representatives from the Tarauni Federal Constituency in Kano Central District. In 2015, he was elected as the senator representing Kano North.

Mr Jibrin is being challenged by the candidate of the NNPP, Abdullahi Baffa, a former Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), and the candidate of the PDP, Sa’idu Gwadabe. The three men and candidates from other parties will slug it out in the 13 local government areas of the district.

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Kabiru Gaya, APC

Kabiru Gaya is from the Gaya Local Government Area of Kano South Senatorial District. Since 2007, Mr Gaya, a former governor of the state, has been elected to the Senate.

The contest in Kano South is generating heightened interest due to Mr Gaya’s main challenger, Kawu Sumaila, a former aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, who lost the APC senate ticket of the zone and returned to the NNPP. He was also a member of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2015.

The PDP candidate for the zone is Galadanchi Bachir.

Kano Central

Abdulsalam Abdulkarim, popularly known as AA Zaura, hails from Zaura village in the Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano and is the senatorial candidate of APC in Kano Central district. He debuted in politics in 2019 and served as the gubernatorial candidate of the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN) before joining the APC.

One of his challengers, the candidate of the NNPP, Rufai Hanga, was disqualified by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). With this, he has the candidate of the PDP, Laila Buhari as his main challenger.

Alhassan Ado and Abdulmumin Jibrin

Alhassan Ado, the current Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, from the Doguwa Local Government Area, is seeking re-election under the APC to represent the Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency. He was first elected a member of the House of Representatives under the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1992.

He was later elected to the House of Representatives in 2007 and has been re-elected in every election by the constituency since then. He will be challenged by the candidate of the NNPP, Salisu Abdullahi, and Jamilu Dayyabu of the PDP.

Abdulmumin Jibrin from Kofa in Bebeji Local Government was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives representing the Kiru/Bebeji Federal constituency under the PDP in 2011. He later joined the newly birthed APC in 2014 and was re-elected in 2015. He was sacked by the court after he was declared the winner of the seat in 2019. He is currently vying for the same seat under the opposition NNPP.

He will be challenged by the candidate of the APC, Sa’id Muhammad, a former commissioner of education in Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s cabinet and Ahmad Rahama of the PDP.