[3] Incumbent All Progressives Congress Governor Bello Matawalle was eligible for re-election but defeated by banker Dauda Lawal — the nominee of the Peoples Democratic Party.

[4] The primaries, scheduled for between 4 April and 9 June 2022, resulted in Matawalle being renominated by the All Progressives Congress unopposed on 26 May while the Peoples Democratic Party nominated banker Dauda Lawal on 25 May.

[2][29] The internal power-struggle between former Governor Abdul'aziz Abubakar Yari and former Senator Kabir Garba Marafa that led to the disqualification of all 2019 Zamfara APC candidates continued after the election until Matawalle's defection in 2021.

[43] In his acceptance speech, Matawalle thanked former Governor Mahmud Shinkafi along with both Yari and Marafa while highlighting party unity.

[8][57][58] However, on 8 November, another Federal High Court ruling nullified the rerun primary due to further irregularities and barred the party from fielding a nominee in the gubernatorial election.

[60] Candidates' vote share Early in the post-primary period, pundits noted that the race followed the trend of Zamfara elections being categorized by defections and ad hoc alliances.

[22][68] Amid the controversy was a violent clash between APC and PDP supporters in Gusau that left one dead and 18 wounded;[69] both major parties traded blame for the tragedy and it raised fears of further electoral violence.

[71] In November, focus returned to legal complications for Lawal as another High Court ruling annulled the rerun primary along with barring the PDP from fielding a nominee in the election.

[10] Amid Lawal's legal struggles, Matawalle faced similar legal problems but related to corruption allegations; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission presented a Federal High Court in October 2022 with evidence that Matawalle used stolen public funds to personally purchase Abuja properties.

[74] The revelations, in addition to previous corruption allegations and new reporting that large amounts of cash had been found in a Matawalle-owned house, tarnished Matawalle's image in the later months of 2022.

[81] On 26 February 2022, the Independent National Electoral Commission released the timetable, setting out key dates and deadlines for the election.

[84] Months later on 27 May 2022, INEC made a slight revision to the timetable, allowing parties extra time to conduct primaries.

[85] Due to widespread insecurity in the state, civil society groups raised concern about the safe conduct of the election in heavily-insecure areas.