[3] Nasir el-Rufai of the APC took a clear lead against the incumbent governor and PDP, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero candidate in the election.

[8][9][10][11][12] Earlier on, in January 2015, in a pre-election poll for the Kaduna gubernatorial elections organised by the ANAP Foundation, the result showed el-Rufai leading Yero by a gap of 26% in-between them; the former having 46% of total votes, and the latter 20%.

[13] Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai emerged winner in the APC gubernatorial primary election.

Nasir el-Rufai overcame four other contenders, polling 1,965 votes to become the winner of the contest.

[16][17][18] A total of 14 candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest in the election.