Despite formally defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday said former governor of Kano State, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, remains a senatorial candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the 2023 election.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Shekarau defected to the PDP about three weeks ago, and relinquished his NNPP senatorial ticket.
“I have equally written to INEC Chairman and to the Kano State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC that I am no longer contesting the senatorial position on the platform of the NNPP,’’ he had said while being welcomed to the PDP by Atiku Abubakar and others.
But in its final list of nominated presidential and national assembly candidates for the 2023 general elections, the electoral body listed Shekarau as a NNPP senatorial candidate.
When contacted, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the former governor remains the candidate of the NNPP for Kano Central senatorial district.
“After July 15, 2022, a candidate can only be replaced as a result of death or through judicial intervention as the window for withdrawals has closed,” Okoye said.
Meanwhile, it is understood that the NNPP has started the process of correcting the anomaly.
