Former local government chairmen in Kano State have formally endorsed the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, as the sole governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 elections.
The endorsement took place on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by the former chairmen—who served between 2019 and 2022 under former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje—to the National Assembly in Abuja.
According to Malam Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser to Senator Barau on Media and Publicity, a motion to adopt the deputy senate president was moved by a former Rimin Gado Local Government chairman, Barrister Dahiru Mannir Maigari, and seconded by the former Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in Kano, Hon. Baffa Mohammed Takai. The motion was unanimously approved when the former Madobi LGA chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Yahaya, put it to a voice vote.
The event was also attended by two Kano State House of Assembly members, Hon. Zubairu Hamza Masu (Sumaila) and Hon. Garba Yau Gwarmai (Tsanyawa/Ghari).
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Speaking on behalf of the former chairmen, Alhaji Khalid Ishak Diso of Gwale LGA urged Senator Barau to formally declare his governorship ambition, saying residents of the state, particularly at the grassroots, were eagerly waiting for his decision.
“When are you declaring? Please answer the call to serve,” he said.
Responding, Senator Barau thanked the delegation and described them as key grassroots leaders. He said Kano had lagged behind due to inadequate leadership and pledged to help restore its status as a leading commercial and developmental centre.
Similarly, stakeholders from Tsanyawa and Ghari LGAs separately endorsed Senator Barau on Wednesday, with motions moved by Hon. Garba Yau Gwarmai and seconded by Hon. Aminu Yakanawa.
Barau also addressed local security concerns in parts of Tsanyawa and Shanono LGAs, saying steps were being taken “underground” to resolve the issues, adding that such matters were “not for radio announcements.”
These endorsements mirror a similar position taken last month by some serving and former members of the Kano State House of Assembly. Numbering more than 200, a group of serving and former members of the House from 1999 to date, led by a former speaker, Rt. Hon. Abdulaziz G. Gafasa (2007–2011), paid a courtesy visit to the Deputy President of the Senate where they endorsed him for the 2027 governorship race.
The issue of Barau’s speculated ambition to run for governor on the APC platform has recently caused a rift within the party in the state, with the party’s chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, querying the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Atta, for declaring that Barau is the best candidate for the party.
