Former Kano State governor and ex-senator, Kabiru Gaya, has lost his bid to secure the senatorial ticket of the Nigeria Democratic Congress for Kano South ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The party instead endorsed Kassim Batayya as its consensus candidate during a meeting held at the Miller Road residence of former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Gaya had resigned from the All Progressives Congress on April 5 to join the African Democratic Congress before later defecting to the NDC alongside Kwankwaso.

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Following his defection, the former senator had indicated interest in returning to the Senate under the platform of the opposition party.

However, his ambition suffered a setback after the NDC opted for Batayya as its preferred candidate during the party’s ongoing primary congresses for Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly positions in Kano State.

Kwankwaso’s media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, announced Batayya’s emergence in a Facebook post and later shared a video clip showing Gaya endorsing the consensus arrangement.

In the video, Gaya reportedly noted that he was absent when the final decision was reached.

Gaya previously represented Kano South Senatorial District between 2015 and 2023 under the APC before losing his seat in the 2023 election to Kawu Sumaila, who contested on the platform of the now-defunct New Nigeria People’s Party.

Ironically, Sumaila has since defected to the APC and has also been nominated for the 2027 election.