Kaduna State’s 2027 governorship race is taking shape as a rematch-heavy contest, with incumbent Governor Uba Sani facing renewed challenges from familiar rivals while regional politics within the state add an additional layer of complexity to who ultimately secures each party’s ticket.
A New PDP Challenger Emerges
Shehu Usman Bawa, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Kaduna North Federal Constituency, has emerged as the People’s Democratic Party’s governorship candidate for 2027. Bawa secured the PDP primary decisively, polling 124,170 votes against opponent Haruna Kajuru’s 22,010, giving him a clear mandate from the party’s base heading into the general election.
A Familiar Face Returns Under a New Banner
Perhaps the most notable name in the Kaduna race is Isah Ashiru, who has been nominated as the African Democratic Congress’s governorship candidate. Ashiru is no newcomer to this specific contest — he was the PDP’s governorship candidate in both 2019 and 2023, finishing second behind Uba Sani in the 2023 election with more than 719,000 votes. His move to the ADC, now a vehicle for the national opposition coalition involving Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, gives him a fresh institutional platform for what is effectively a third consecutive attempt at the Kaduna governorship.
Southern Kaduna’s Push for Representation
A significant undercurrent in Kaduna’s 2027 race is the Southern Kaduna Renaissance Front’s declaration that producing a credible governorship candidate from the predominantly Christian southern region of the state is a “non-negotiable priority” for 2027. The group has urged Southern Kaduna politicians to contest primaries across all major political parties to guarantee the region’s presence on the ballot, reflecting longstanding tensions over political representation between the state’s northern and southern, and Muslim and Christian, constituencies.
Sani’s Incumbency Advantage and Its Limits
Governor Uba Sani enters the 2027 race with the institutional advantages of incumbency, having already demonstrated the ability to win a closely contested race against Ashiru in 2023. Whether that advantage holds depends heavily on how Kaduna’s economic and security conditions — the state has long grappled with banditry and kidnapping in its rural areas — are perceived by voters by the time campaigning intensifies in late 2026.
A Rematch With Higher Stakes
With Ashiru now backed by the ADC’s national coalition infrastructure rather than running as a standalone PDP candidate, his third attempt at unseating the APC in Kaduna carries different strategic weight than his previous two runs. The coalition framing could help him consolidate anti-incumbent votes more effectively than in 2023, when opposition support in the state was more fragmented.
What to Watch as 2027 Approaches
Kaduna’s governorship race will be a useful early indicator of whether the ADC-led opposition coalition can translate its presidential-level alliance into genuine state-level electoral gains, or whether incumbent APC governors across the north can hold their ground despite the coalition’s efforts. Ashiru’s performance against Sani in particular will be closely watched as a bellwether for the broader contest.
This article represents an editorial opinion based on publicly available information.
