The Kano State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has denied allegations that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the party are behind legal moves to disqualify the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, from the 2027 election.
The party described the allegation as false and baseless, insisting that neither the governor nor the APC initiated, sponsored or influenced the court proceedings involving the NDC candidate.
The denial followed comments by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, who accused Governor Yusuf of seeking to prevent the NDC from fielding Gwarzo in the next governorship election.
West Trybe reported that Kwankwaso made the allegation on Monday during a press briefing in Kano, claiming that the governor had initially attempted to use the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove the NDC candidate from the ballot before turning to the courts.
According to the former Kano governor, the alleged attempt to get INEC to declare that the NDC had no governorship candidate failed, prompting the resort to litigation.
“What he wanted was for INEC to declare that there was no governorship candidate in Kano. When that did not happen, they went to court seeking the disqualification of our candidate,” Kwankwaso said.
However, the Kano APC chairman, Umar Haruna Doguwa, rejected the allegation in a statement issued on Monday, explaining that the legal dispute originated from an internal crisis within the NDC.
Doguwa said members of the opposition party instituted the case against the NDC itself, not against the APC, its governorship candidate or the Kano State Government.
“The case originated from the internal crisis within the NDC, explaining that it was instituted by members of the party against the NDC itself and not by the APC, its governorship candidate or the Kano State Government,” the statement said.
The APC maintained that attempts to associate the party and Governor Yusuf with the proceedings were misleading and did not reflect the origin of the dispute.
It challenged Kwankwaso to provide credible and verifiable evidence to support his allegation, rather than make claims it said could mislead the public and heighten political tension.
The party also accused the former governor of using the controversy to blackmail the APC and its governorship candidate.
It insisted that it had no interest in interfering with the electoral process or using government authority against opposition politicians.
“APC has no interest in interfering with the electoral process or using state power against political opponents. Every eligible candidate had the constitutional right to participate in the 2027 general elections in accordance with the law,” the statement added.
The ruling party further argued that the judiciary was an independent arm of government and that neither the APC nor the governor had the power to dictate court proceedings or determine judicial decisions.
It said it welcomed the participation of opposition parties in the electoral process and had no reason to undermine any political organisation or candidate.
The party urged Kwankwaso and other political actors to allow the relevant institutions to perform their constitutional responsibilities without politicising disputes arising from internal party affairs.
It also called on residents to disregard what it described as attempts to link the governor and the APC to the legal battle over the NDC governorship ticket.
The controversy comes as political parties and aspirants begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Kano, with disputes over party leadership, candidate selection and electoral participation drawing attention.
West Trybe reports that the disagreement has brought the NDC’s internal legal dispute into the wider political contest in Kano, with Kwankwaso accusing the governor of interference while the APC maintains that the case was initiated by members of the opposition party itself.
