INEC Excludes SDP, NNPP, AA, Accord Party From Bauchi 2027 Governorship Race

By Umar U Duguri

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded governorship candidates of four political parties — the Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Action Alliance (AA) and Accord Party — from its final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship election in Bauchi State.

The commission published the final list of governorship candidates and their running mates on its official website on Saturday, listing 15 candidates cleared to contest the election to succeed Governor Bala Mohammed in 2027.

The omission means that the four parties have no governorship candidates on the published list, despite reportedly having submitted candidates to the commission earlier.

INEC’s publication, however, does not, by itself, establish the reasons for their exclusion. The commission’s explanation, if any, was not provided in the information available for this report.

Parties, Candidates And Running Mates

According to the published list, the African Action Congress (AAC) will field Abdullahi Adamu as its governorship candidate, with Shehu Imam as running mate.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) will contest with Halliru Dauda Jika as its candidate and Samaila Mohammed Kabir as running mate, while the Action Democratic Party (ADP) will field Yunusa Shehu Jinda and Badia Lawal Muhammad as its governorship candidate and running mate, respectively.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) will be represented by Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar, with Farouk Mustapha as his running mate.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) will field Naziru Usman as its governorship candidate, with Aminu Mohammed Kabiru as running mate.

Similarly, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) will contest with Yakubu Adamu as its candidate and Babamaji Mahmood as running mate.

The Action Peoples Party (APP) will field Kabiru Abdulhamid Shuwa and Yunusa Mamuda as its governorship candidate and running mate, respectively.

For the Labour Party (LP), INEC listed Idris Aliyu Muhammad as the governorship candidate, with Yilkat Samako as running mate.

The New Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) will be represented by Kashim Ibrahim Muhammad, with Tata Alhaji as running mate.

The National Democratic Party (NDP) will field Haruna Muhammad Ningi as its governorship candidate, with Shehu Usman Abdu as running mate.

Meanwhile, the National Rescue Movement (NRM) will contest with Muhammad Muhammad Zaharaddin as its candidate and Kabiru Umar as running mate.

Implications For The 2027 Election

The exclusion of the four parties raises questions about their participation in the Bauchi governorship election and the status of the candidates they previously submitted to INEC.

However, the reasons for their omission remain unclear from the published information. Further clarification from INEC and the affected political parties would be necessary to establish whether the exclusions arose from nomination requirements, unresolved disputes, court-related developments or other electoral considerations.

With the 2027 governorship contest expected to attract significant political interest, the final list represents an important development in the preparations for the election.

Desert Herald will continue to follow developments surrounding the candidates’ list and any official clarification regarding the four parties’ exclusion.