RabiuMusaKwankwaso
Former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has dismissed allegations that he is secretly working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, insisting that his political loyalty remains firmly with the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
Kwankwaso described claims linking him to Tinubu’s political camp as false and misleading, saying only “foolish people” would believe he is covertly supporting the president.
The former governor made the remarks during an interview on Global TV monitored on Wednesday night, while reacting to allegations by Sanusi Bature, spokesperson to Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf.
Bature had alleged that Kwankwaso worked for Tinubu during the 2023 elections and recently attempted to secure a private meeting with the president.
Responding sharply, Kwankwaso denied any political arrangement with the president.
“We are not working for anybody. We are only working for NDC,” he declared.
The former Minister of Defence, however, acknowledged his longstanding personal relationship with Tinubu, describing the president as a friend and senior brother, while stressing that friendship should not be mistaken for political collaboration.
“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,” Kwankwaso said.
“He is doing his own and I am doing my own.”
Kwankwaso also took a swipe at members of the president’s inner circle, suggesting that Tinubu may not be fully aware of the hardship and realities confronting Nigerians because those around him are allegedly shielding him from the truth.
According to him, many of the individuals surrounding the president are contributing to the country’s problems instead of helping to address them.
“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,” he said.
The former NNPP leader further spoke on his political alliance with former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, following their movement into the NDC coalition.
Kwankwaso revealed that leaders of the coalition across the six geo-political zones agreed to zone the presidential ticket to the South before settling on Obi as the preferred candidate.
According to him, the coalition considered Obi the strongest option to challenge for power in 2027.
“We looked around across the zones and we realised that Peter Obi is the best candidate. That was our assessment at that particular time,” he stated.
On his political influence in northern Nigeria and his ability to mobilise support for Obi across the North-East and North-West, Kwankwaso said the coalition still has enough time to convince Nigerians before the next general election.
He maintained that the alliance would continue engaging Nigerians and countering what he described as misinformation and divisive narratives ahead of the polls.