Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano, has dismissed claims insinuating he is working for the interest of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Kwankwaso, who spoke on Wednesday night in an interview with Global TV, noted that certain persons have been peddling the rumours since his days in the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Sanusi Bature, spokesperson for Abba Yusuf, Kano governor, had alleged that Kwankwaso, former national leader of the NNPP, is indirectly working for Tinubu’s re-election.
He alleged that Kwankwaso worked for Tinubu in 2023, and had recently pushed for a direct meeting with the president, which did not materialise.
However, Kwankwaso refuted the allegations, saying only foolish people would believe the claims.
“I think only foolish people would believe that. We are not working for anybody. We are only working for NDC,” he said.
“Bola Tinubu has been my senior brother and good friend up till now. But that doesn’t mean we shall pull all our political ideologies together with him.
“He is doing his own and I am doing my own.”
The ex-minister of defence said even though he belongs to another political party, he believes the president is not aware of the issues plaguing the country because those around him are not telling him the truth.
“Normally under the current circumstances, the president may not see what is happening. And unfortunately, most of the people around him are actually the ones creating the problems,” Kwankwaso said.
“So, in those circumstances, it is difficult to see who will advise him or tell him the obvious situation. What they normally tell and what they are doing is to pick governors. I think going by the number of governors now, APC is number one.”
On May 3, Kwankwaso and Peter Obi, 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), where they have been holding talks bordering on a joint presidential ticket.
However, Bature said any potential political arrangement between the duo would be short-lived.
Reacting, Kwankwaso said his camp decided to support Obi because it believes he is the best candidate from the south.
“When we joined the NDC, we invited all our leaders from the six geo-political zones and we sat down and looked at the situations. We then decided to come together and work as a family,” Kwankwaso said.
“The party, in its own wisdom, decided to zone the presidential ticket to the south. We looked around across the zones and we realised that Peter Obi is the best candidate. That was our assessment at that particular time.”
Asked if he is popular across the north and how he would help Obi galvanise votes in the north-east and north-west, Kwankwaso said the coalition still has enough time to convince Nigerians before the general election.
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“I can’t start telling our viewers that I am popular. I think it’s up to the people out there to tell. We are just in the field, working very hard,” he said.
“We are trying to convince the people, even those who are going about telling lies to try to take advantage of our differences in the country, which should be our strength, we are working on that.
“And I am happy to say that we are very lucky because from now till January 16, 2027, we have about eight months, which is enough time.
“Those who are telling the lies, the lies will come out and people will also identify those who are telling the truth and are serious.”
