The Independent National Electoral Commission has omitted the Nigeria Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Senator Danjuma La’ah, from its final list of candidates for the 2027 election.
The PUNCH reports that the list, signed by INEC Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, contains 16 governorship candidates and their running mates but excludes La’ah, amid a dispute over the NDC’s ticket and an alleged registration mix-up.
However, the party’s State Chairman, Mordecai Ibrahim, on Sunday, blamed the omission on discrepancies in the registration of the candidate’s name.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Ibrahim said network problems during the online registration process led to several people attempting to register the candidate, resulting in a mix-up.
“The problem is that there was a mix-up of names. The person who registered him made a mistake because, each time there were network issues, we got several people to try registering him,” he said.
The chairman said the party was working to resolve the discrepancy and establish that the different versions of the name referred to the same person.
He said, “They are trying to make sure that Danjuma Tella La’ah and Danjuma La’ah are the same person. That is all.”
Ibrahim expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved, insisting that the party and its candidate were qualified to participate in the 2027 governorship election.
Asked whether the publication of the final list meant the party had lost the opportunity to field La’ah, the chairman argued that legal options could still be explored if necessary.
He cited a previous election in which, according to him, a court ordered the inclusion of a candidate on the ballot shortly before the poll.
However, Ibrahim did not disclose whether the party had formally petitioned INEC over the alleged registration error or initiated legal proceedings to secure La’ah’s inclusion on the list.
The omission comes amid an earlier disagreement within the NDC over who should fly the party’s flag in the Kaduna governorship election.
In August, Ibrahim said the party had yet to resolve the contest between La’ah and lawyer Mohammed Sani Abbas.
“The bitter truth is that both at the state and national levels, the decision as to who the governorship candidate of Kaduna State is, whether Barrister Mohammed Sani Abbas or Senator Danjuma Tella La’ah, has not been taken,” he said.
Other candidates listed by INEC include Sani Uba of the All Progressives Congress, Isa Ashiru of the African Democratic Congress and Bawa Usman of the Peoples Democratic Party.
INEC’s response to the NDC chairman’s explanation was not immediately available.