Former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has dismissed the allegation that he is secretly working for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Kwankwaso who stated this during an interview on Global TV on Wednesday night, said the rumour had been circulating since his time in the New Nigeria People’s Party.
Recall that Sanusi Bature, spokesperson to Governor Abba Yusuf, had during an interview on Arise News on Wednesday, accused Kwankwaso of secretly advancing the interest of Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential poll.
Bature had said, “There are those who are working with Tinubu openly, directly in the public space, and there are those who can work for Tinubu behind the scenes.
“I believe whatever Kwankwaso is doing will favour Tinubu at the end of the day because Kwankwaso worked for Tinubu in 2023.
“I’m a member of the APC; I have been the opposition spokesperson in Kano, and I know what happened in 2023. I believe Kwankwaso is working for Tinubu in 2027 behind the scenes.”
Things fell apart between Kwankwaso and Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf following the governor’s decision to join the APC against the wish of his former political godfather.
But in his swift response to the allegation, Kwankwaso said, “I think only foolish people would believe that. We are not working for anybody. We are only working for NDC.
“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.”
Kwankwaso also said Tinubu is not aware of the issues plaguing the country because those around him are not telling him the truth.
He stated, “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.
“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.”
But Kwankwaso defended his decision to support Peter Obi, saying the former Labor Party presidential candidate is the best candidate from the south.
He added, “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.
“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.”
