Senator Gaya Loses NDC Senatorial Primary in Kano

A former senator and ex-governor of Kano State, Kabiru Gaya, has lost the senatorial ticket of the Nigeria Democratic Congress for the Kano South Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The development followed the party’s decision to adopt Kassim Batayya as its consensus candidate during a stakeholders’ meeting reportedly held on Sunday at the Miller Road residence of former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

The outcome came weeks after Gaya defected from the All Progressives Congress to the opposition party amid ongoing political realignments in Kano State ahead of the next election cycle.

Before joining the NDC, Gaya had briefly aligned with the African Democratic Congress after resigning from the APC on April 5.

Political observers had speculated that the former lawmaker would emerge as the NDC candidate for Kano South following his alliance with Kwankwaso and other influential political figures in the state.

However, the party eventually settled for Batayya during its primary process.

The announcement was made public by Kwankwaso’s media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, through a Facebook post accompanied by a video clip showing Gaya endorsing Batayya as the party’s consensus candidate.

In the video, Gaya said he accepted the decision despite not being present when it was reached.

“We are all working for the progress of the party. Although I was not present when the decision was taken, I have accepted it in good faith,” he stated.

He added that politics required sacrifice and understanding, stressing that the collective interest of the party and Kano South remained more important than individual ambition.

Gaya served as governor of Kano State during the Third Republic between 1992 and 1993 and later represented Kano South in the Senate from 2015 to 2023 under the APC platform.

He lost his re-election bid in 2023 to Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, who contested under the New Nigeria People’s Party before later defecting to the APC.