The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, is set to dump the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), following negotiations between the two camps.
The reports said talks are at an advanced stage and a final meeting is expected to be held to decide the outcome of the talks.
Musa Ungogo, the ADC Chairman in Kano State, confirmed that talks were ongoing, adding that the move was initiated by Gawuna and not the party.
“The story going round that the ADC approached Gawuna is not true. It was Gawuna who came to us. He sent a delegation to meet us and we have been in talks since then,” Ungogo added.
Ungogo said the representatives of Gawuna included former Kumbotso Local Government Chairman, Sagir Fanshekara and Hon.
The delegation met the party leadership and submitted several demands, he revealed.
One of them is the call for the adoption of Gawuna as the ADC governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
The delegation also called for political accommodation for some of Gawuna’s loyalists interested in State House of Assembly and National Assembly tickets.
Ungogo said Gawuna’s camp proposed a consensus arrangement, with other governorship aspirants stepping down for him.
“They came with a number of requests. One of their major demands is that Dr Gawuna should be the party’s governorship candidate. They also requested opportunities for some of their supporters who are interested in the state assembly and National Assembly tickets,” he said.
“They told us that even if the party settled for primaries, aspirants should step down for him because he is said to have political strength in several local government areas and has the capacity to lead the party to victory.
“They requested for a consensus arrangement and also requested that the other aspirants support him,” he said.
The party will take a decision after it receives a formal written submission on all the demands, the ADC chairman added.
“We asked them to give us a written document with all their requests in it. They were also required to state the positions they are seeking and the local government areas where they have interests.
“We have another meeting scheduled for today. “We will make our position known and will study the document carefully when we get it,” he said.
Ungogo said no agreement had been reached despite the ongoing talks.
Consultations are continuing. Nothing has been decided yet. “We want a solution that is acceptable to all the stakeholders and beneficial to the party,” he said.
A close aide of Gawuna also confirmed that consultations were on-going but did not give further details.
I am not his spokesman, nor am I authorised to speak on the matter. “What I can say is that the consultations are ongoing,” the source said.
This is the latest development after Gawuna left the APC and later joined the NDC with Rabiu Kwankwaso and members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement months ago.
On his defection to the NDC, Gawuna got the Kano Central senatorial ticket, while the party settled for Aminu Gwarzo as its consensus governorship candidate.
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