A former governor of Kano State and senator representing Kano South in the 9th National Assembly, Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya, has lost his bid to return to the Senate on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Gaya, who recently defected to the NDC from the All Progressives Congress and the African Democratic Congress, had contested for the party’s ticket to contest the Kano South senatorial seat in the 2027 election.
But he lost the ticket to a former National Association of Road Transport Owners Chairman, Alkasim Ibrahim Batayya.
Kwankwasiyya Spokesperson II, Mansur Kurugu, confirmed that Batayya was a result of a consensus arrangement on Sunday at the Kano residence of former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Miller Road.
Gaya had agreed to the results of the consensus process and would work to secure Batayya’s victory at the election, Kurugu said.
“Kabiru Gaya has accepted the decision and promised to give his maximum support for Batayya to win the seat,” he said.
We will continue with the consensus meeting on Monday until all the seats are decided without necessarily going into direct primaries,” he said.
Kwankwaso’s media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, also shared a video of Gaya on Facebook.
In the video, the ex-senator was seen backing the decision and promising support for the party’s preferred candidate.
The development is seen as a huge political blow for Gaya, who served in the Senate from 2015 to 2023.
Gaya also served as governor of Kano State during the Third Republic and has continued to be one of the prominent politicians from Kano South.
“With Batayya emerging as NDC candidate, he is expected to face Kawu Sumaila, who defeated him in the 2023 senatorial election,” it said.
Sumaila won the seat in 2023 on the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) but defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) where he got the party’s 2027 ticket.
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