Rabiu Kwankwaso, the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, is accused of threatening to leave the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), however the movement has addressed this.

Habibu Mohammed, the party’s spokesperson, stated in a statement that Kwankwaso has never threatened to quit the party over the candidates’ replacements.

The group called the conjecture “rumors.”

“Kwankwaso never made an NDC exit threat. The Kwankwasiyya Movement and its leader are not complaining, according to the statement.

According to reports, the Kwankwasiyya Movement would leave the party if loyalists who had previously been selected by the bloc were removed.

Recall that the rumors surfaced after the group substituted a number of candidates, allegedly violating an earlier power-sharing agreement. Mohammed denied the accusations.

The group’s spokesperson said that the winners were confirmed the same day and that the party primaries were held on May 29 in accordance with the Electoral Act and INEC regulations.

He claimed that the NDC members and stakeholders had previously decided on a consensus model when needed, adopted candidates in accordance with it, and presented the list without internal disputes.

Kwankwaso had not expressed any complaints to the party regarding the initiative, he continued.

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Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Rabiu Kwankwaso has kicked against a reported move by leadership of the party to drop some party candidates loyal to Kwankwaso.

It was learnt that NDC has replaced some of the candidates earlier submitted by the Kwankwasiyya faction in Kano State, over an alleged breach of a power-sharing agreement.

A document purportedly signed by Kano State Chairman of the party, Hon. Hussaini Isah Mairiga, said the changes were made to reflect the earlier agreement on the distribution of party positions and elective tickets between the existing NDC structure and the Kwankwasiyya bloc.

The document, copied to the NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, leader of Kwankwasiyya, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the party’s North-West Zonal Chairman, changed the list of both federal and state house assembly candidates.

When contacted on Monday, the Kwankwassiyya Movement’s national spokesman, Habib Mai-Lemo, dismissed the document arguing that due process was followed before aspirants from the camp of Mr. Kwankwaso became candidates.

Mai-Lemo said the Kwankwassiyya Movement will for now, treat the report as a rumour, considering that the state chairman of the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC were part of the processes that produced the affected candidates.

“I also saw on social media that some candidates are being dropped a week after the primaries were conducted,” he said.

“It wasn’t Kwankwaso who sold nomination forms, it was the party and therefore processes were followed either through consensus or primary election.

“All candidates were involved in the process from start to finish. ‘While the processes were going on we never had any complaints from anyone. We didn’t block nobody to buy the forms cause the first place we didn’t sell the forms.

“All the candidates went through due processes. “We are waiting to see if it is true or not, we don’t know where this issue is coming from as we have not seen a copy of the letter that is supposed to be signed by the State Chairman of the NDC”.

“We know the state played a part in the process. “So for now, we are treating it as a rumour. He was around on the day of consensus, even INEC was around.

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Vice Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Rabi’u Kwankwaso, has been accused of hijacking party structure in the North West

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the party’s Northwest Vice Chairman Mohammed Rabiu Serina and Kano State Chairman Hussaini Isa Mariga, respectively.

They accused the former Kano state governor of barring non-Kwankwasiyya members from contesting for elective offices on its platform.

The duo stated that they are pioneer members of the party, appointed by the party’s National Leader, former Governor of Bayelsa State, Henry Seriake Dickson, before the party was registered and subsequently confirmed as substantive officers at congresses and the national convention.

Serina and Mariga also said they helped build the party structures across Kano State and the North West before Kwankwaso and his supporters joined the party.

“The problems started when Kwankwaso wanted to take over the party structure in Kano State in the state congresses.

“The disagreement led to the intervention of the party’s national leader, Seriake Dickson who convened a meeting and brokered an agreement which gave Kwankwaso and his supporters 60 per cent control of the party structure in Kano while the party retained 40 per cent,” the party officials said.

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The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele has warned the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi that his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso will not favour his presidential ambition.

In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele said Peter Obi is too desperate and cannot see beyond what he desires.

“The former Anambra governor doesn’t listen to instructions. Kwankwaso has already sold him out but he doesn’t know,” the man of God said.

“Peter Obi has fallen into the wrong hands for his ambition because he does not listen to divine instructions.

“Kwankwaso is not ready to fight for him. He will betray him one day but he does not know it yet. He’s already confused Obi’s presidential ambition,” he said.

The prophet said that whatever Kwankwaso was doing was for his own interest and nothing else.

He said that he does not hate Obi or any politician but he is not mature to hold the presidential position.

“Kwankwaso is doing everything for his personal interest and that is all. I wish I could make Obi see what is happening all around him, but he cannot. “I love Peter Obi and his courage but he is not yet matured for the position he seeks. I don’t hate Peter Obi.

“But Kwankwaso’s plans will soon be revealed but it will be too late for Peter Obi because he has gone very deep into it,” he added.

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Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, a former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has responded to statements credited to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, stating that Kwankwaso had been his political protégé.

In a statement issued from Saudi Arabia by his chief of staff, Comrade Muhammad Garba, where the former governor is performing the Hajj, Ganduje said the allegation was false.

Ganduje said politics is based on relationships, support and mentorship, adding that every successful politician receives assistance from others at some point in their career, according to the statement.

He said he played a major role in Kwankwaso’s early political rise, especially during his election into the House of Representatives and his subsequent emergence as Deputy Speaker.

He was quoted in the statement as saying: “I too have the right to say that Kwankwaso was once my political boy because I supported him and helped him to rise to important positions.

Ganduje also said that before that period, when he was working both in Abuja and Kano, Kwankwaso often visited his offices to discuss politics.

The former governor also urged politicians to stop using labels such as “godfather” and “political son”, adding that the focus should be on the quality of leadership and development of the people.

He also recalled the 1998 political developments in Kano where he won the governorship primary at the time but stepped down in the interest of unity and agreed to serve as Kwankwaso’s deputy.

It added that although they later had political differences, Ganduje and Kwankwaso worked together for the development of Kano State between 1999 and 2003, and again between 2011 and 2015.

Ganduje said although Yusuf once served under him, he is now the elected governor of Kano and deserves respect by virtue of the office he holds.

Ganduje urged politicians and their supporters in Kano to avoid utterances capable of deepening division, calling for peace and unity in the state.

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The spokesman of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Habibu Mohammed, has dismissed reports of defection talks between the chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, and President Bola Tinubu.

Mohammed told ARISE Television’s ‘Morning Show’ on Friday that Kwankwaso and Tinubu have a long-term relationship and that the two have also worked together a number of times at the National Assembly. He said the two are the key figures that brought the All Progressives Congress (APC) to life.

Mohammed said Kwankwaso rejected Tinubu’s offer to work with him in the early days of his administration.

He said Kwankwaso, a former Governor of Kano State, does not need anyone to push him to work with the President.

He said Kwankwaso had developed a working relationship with former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, even before his earlier defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

He said: “In the early days of Tinubu’s administration, he invited Kwankwaso to a private meeting to discuss working with him, which Kwankwaso later revealed.

“But Kwankwaso rejected working with the Tinubu administration.

“Kwankwaso had already established a working relationship with the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi before his defection to the African Democratic Congress, ADC.”

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For months, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition had been buzzing with a tantalising prospect for the opposition: a united front that could oust the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

The ADC coalition also gained momentum after two political heavyweights, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, defected to ADC.

But the party was struck by a blow just as the blueprint for an opposition mega-coalition was being drafted with the dramatic exits of both Peter Obi and Kwankwaso sending shockwaves through the political landscape.

With the duo moving to a new vehicle, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), a critical question hangs over the country: is the opposition alliance already on life support or merely a charade to hand the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) victory on a platter?

Ego of 2023? Repeating itself?
In 2023, the division of votes among the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) handed President Bola Tinubu the keys to Aso Rock.

The problem of zoning the presidential ticket to the South, which is the root cause of the current crisis in the PDP, is repeating itself in the ADC as the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has shunned zoning and is ready to slug it out with the ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, at the party’s primary election.

Meanwhile, NDC has moved to solve the ultimate issue of zoning, which Peter Obi and Kwankwanso had feared while in ADC.

Kwankwaso endorsed the zoning formula and indicated his willingness to run as Peter Obi’s running mate, a move that could clear the path for his presidential ambition.

Split Opposition, Tinubu Factor
In an exclusive interview, public affairs analyst cum lecturer at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Jide Johnson said the opposition parties are not showing any sign of stability.

“In Nigeria, there are no opposition parties, and there are no ruling parties,” he said. You have just opportunists using political party platforms to try to seek and control the levers of government. Because the political parties in Nigeria do not have control of any ideology. The political parties in Nigeria have similar attributes, similar principles in terms of governance. The question you are asking is that the big players that were in the PDP, 16 year administration, are also in the APC, 11th year administration.

“So for the last quarter of a century, the actors and players in the political space in Nigeria, whether at the state or especially at the federal level, have been doing the same. So when you talk about opposition, you are talking about Kwankwaso, you are talking about Atiku Abubakar, with the exception of Peter Obi, all of them in the opposition have either been in PDP or APC in the past. So what’s the difference? To me, there is no difference between the political parties we have in Nigeria as they are now constituted. “What we have is a special purpose vehicle that people are using to confuse Nigeria so that they can have a sense of deliver till now.”

Asked if the proposed alliance between Peter Obi and Kwankwaso further divides or unites the opposition, Jide said, “Well, we don’t, until the parties are through with their primaries. “Once the parties are through with their primaries, then you begin to see. Nobody is going to be talking about the result of the election until we get to November or December 2026. That’s when you see the clearest indication whether the breaking of the opposition into different splinter groups will have an effect on the ability of the opposition to rally around and from the APC, or whether the APC will be able to push its house in order to manage the internal crisis that will likely arise out of the way the party has conducted its primaries thus far.

“It may be too early for us to speculate about what will happen in the January 2027 presidential election. The likely outcome will be known when the parties come, conduct their primaries and we know how they are able to manage their internal crisis post primary. And you don’t know if after the candidacy by the merger, you will remember that in 1999 there was an understanding, a merger between the AP and the APP to present a candidate against the PDP. But the present set-up tends to favour the incumbent as the opposition is divided across various interest groups. It will favour the incumbent, which is APC and that is what people are thinking. But you don’t actually feel for a fact what will likely be the outcome in January, until we get to that period I’ve spoken about.”

Speaking on fears of a possible implosion within the APC, particularly with the results announced so far, Jide Johnson said, “There will always be an internal post-primary crisis, depending on how it is managed. How it is managed will go a long way to preventing the implosion you talk about. And when you talk about the power of equivalency I think the APC has a lot of opportunity to dispense with. I think those who are not happy with the outcome might likely be compensated. They might think their stock is better with the APC, than with an uncertain opposition.

To me, the 2026 Electoral Act has boxed everybody into a corner. In the past you saw those who lost out in the primaries likely go to another political party. But we don’t have that choice anymore. Unfortunately, the members of the National Assembly, they play the role of a tortoise and the same sword that they thought that would be used against them, their opponents in their respective constituencies, is the same sword that has been used against them presently. And so the same provisions they require for the 2026 Electoral Act, the same provisions that have been used to collude in their political ambitions. And we wait and see the result. But it is to some extent APC’s advantage now because the opposition is fragmented.

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The Kano State Government has alleged that the former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is indirectly working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Director-General of Media and Publicity at the Kano Government House, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, made the claim on Wednesday while appearing on the Arise TV Morning Show.

Bature said recent political alignments and engagements across the country suggest behind-the-scenes arrangements that may shape the 2027 political landscape in favour of President Tinubu.

“Kwankwaso is working indirectly or strategically for the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027,” he said.

He also alleged that some opposition figures are holding political consultations that are damaging a united front ahead of the elections.

“It is unlikely that Kwankwaso and Obi will work together politically,” he said.

Kwankwaso hates Peter Obi and Peter Obi hates Kwankwaso, according to Bature.

“People with divergent political views and contrary ideologies cannot work together to win an election and govern a sophisticated country like Nigeria,” he added.

The political differences, he said, would pose obstacles to cooperation ahead of the 2027 elections.

Bature had also said that the former vice presidential candidate Peter Obi might be facing political restrictions in Kano State because of the conservative nature of the state’s political environment.

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There are mixed views among voters and supporters across northern Nigeria on how the region might vote in the 2027 presidential election if former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and former Kano Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso remain on different political platforms.

The discussion is coming on the heels of increasing talks of a possible alliance between Peter Obi and Kwankwaso on one hand and Atiku who is expected to pursue his presidential ambition separately with a yet to be identified running mate.

Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada, an ADC chieftain, commenting on the emerging political permutations, said northern voters may be divided due to the different alliances and political interests ahead of the election.

According to him, Kwankwaso’s political influence remains the strongest in Kano State, unlike Atiku, whose support base stretches across several northern states.

“Based on what I have seen, Kwankwaso’s support is in Kano. “You can see that he only made it in Kano in the previous election, Atiku is everywhere,” he said.

He said some northern voters are not comfortable with Obi’s involvement due to perceptions around the 2023 election campaign.

“The issue is that the North does not want Obi on the ballot because of the religious card he played the other time. That will also affect the strength of Kwankwaso in 2027,” he stated.

Wada also said many northerners are against the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and would want to support a northern candidate in the next election.

“The North is unanimously agreed on the APC and will certainly vote for a Northerner on the ballot. “He’s a running mate this time around and that has discouraged many of his supporters,” he added.

Kano Obidient Coordinator, Barrister Ibrahim Muhammad, on the other hand, feels the northern vote may be different this time around as proposed alliances are being made.

“The northern vote will likely split, but not like that of the 2023, because Kwankwaso is running with Peter Obi as presidential candidate from the South,” he told.

“The voting pattern could be affected by things such as the strength of a candidate in a particular region, the choice of running mates and which candidate voters think has the best chance of beating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, he said.

He said the pattern will depend on three things: home-base strength, running mates and whether voters rally around the candidate they believe has the best chance of beating Tinubu.

Muhammad also cited the broader coalition being discussed among opposition figures and parties.

“2023 election, Kwankwaso contested as presidential candidate in NNPP, which is a different party from the party Atiku contested under and got lower votes, but this coming election (2027 election), Kwankwaso will run with Peter Obi together with a massive alliance from different parties such as LP, SDP, APGA, and even those departing from APC to NDC,” he said.

“Some northern voters now see Atiku’s politics as personal ambition and not part of a larger opposition strategy,” he said.

He alleged that “Northerners now know that Atiku is running for himself, not for Nigerians because Obi and Kwankwaso requested that he should join NDC so that they can merge and beat Tinubu and he denied.

He further predicted that a Kwankwaso/Obi alliance could perform strongly in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and other North-West states, while Obi’s influence may also boost support in the North-East and North-Central regions.

He said the merger of Obi and Kwankwaso will help massively in getting more votes in Nigeria than any other part because of their loyalty and dedication to citizens,” he added.

However, one Mamman Buhari, an activist in Kano, believes neither Atiku nor Kwankwaso would come out victorious.

“Support for Obi has exposed Kwankwaso as selfish,” he said. Obi and Kwankwaso do not respect each other’s political consciousness, but selfishness has brought them together.

“Leave Atiku alone; he has been contesting for a very long time.

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Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi and National Chairman of the NDC, Henry Seriake Dickson, paid a courtesy visit to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso at his residence in Maitama, Abuja on Friday night.

The visit was announced in a statement signed by Kwankwaso’s media aide, Hon. Saifullahi Hassan.

The statement said the political figures discussed the political developments in the country, but the details of the meeting were not disclosed.

Kwankwaso received the visitors alongside former Kano State Deputy Governor, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna; Senator representing Kano Central, Rufa’i Sani Hanga; prominent NNPP chieftain, Buba Galadima; and member of the House of Representatives representing Kura, Madobi and Garun Malam Federal Constituency, Yusuf Datti Kura.

The meeting also had the presence of several other key figures in the Kwankwasiyya Movement.

The development is expected to further fuel speculation over ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election, especially amid reports of possible alliance talks involving Obi and Kwankwaso on a joint presidential ticket. The exact issues discussed were not disclosed.

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