… blames him for inability to get 2027 return ticket to Senate
Senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District, Rufai Sani Hanga, has explained the reason behind his parting ways with former Kano State governor and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, saying the development was triggered by growing disagreement over his empowerment programmes and political activities in the state.
Hanga, who disclosed these during an interview with the online television platform Dan’uwa Rano TV, said Kwankwaso became displeased with him after he organised a major empowerment programme where he distributed vehicles, rice, fertilizer, grinding machines, and other items to his constituents.
He noted that the rift came to a head when he held the event at a venue associated with Kwankwaso, after the former governor had initially agreed to attend and witness the distribution.
Hanga said the venue was filled with cars, bags of rice, fertilizer, livestock, and other empowerment materials—items that took roughly a day and a half to move to the location.
Hanga recalled that Kwankwaso appeared visibly displeased upon arrival and the former governor subsequently asked those present to break for prayers, saying he left the venue and never returned for the continuation of the empowerment programme.
The Senator said the distribution proceeded nonetheless in the presence of several political figures, including former Kano State deputy governor, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo; Wada Sagagi, Batayya, Nasiru Gawuna, and several members of the National Assembly.
He claimed that Kwankwaso later confronted him over the event, accusing him of hosting the distribution to get public praise for an unprecedented performance by a Kano Central senator.
“He said, ‘You came distributing things because people are praising you, saying Kano Central has never had a senator like you. You could not even bring the items to us to distribute. You gave me 50 bags of rice, 50 bags of fertilizer, and three cows. Am I hungry, or do I not have them? That is why I refused to come back after prayers,’” Hanga quoted Kwankwaso as saying.
The senator said he apologised and promised to resolve whatever was considered a misunderstanding. But he maintained that Kwankwaso had earlier sent emissaries requesting that specific individuals benefit from his empowerment schemes.
Hanga further alleged that Kwankwaso sent Sunusi Surajo Kwankwaso to request a vehicle for a beneficiary from Shanono—a local government area outside Kano Central Senatorial District.
Hanga said he ultimately bought the vehicle after being informed that the intended beneficiary’s car had been damaged in an accident during Kwankwaso’s political campaign.
“I told him that whoever he wanted us to assist, we were ready to do so,” Hanga said.
The senator explained that the incident led him to conclude that mutual respect in their relationship had eroded.
“That was when I realised disrespect had set in. He has treated others this way, but he had never done it to me until that moment. I told myself that since he started acting this way toward me, it was a mark of disrespect and things would not end well between us,” he said.
Hanga added that Kwankwaso was uncomfortable with the sheer scale of his empowerment initiatives and his rising public profile.
“He was simply not happy with what I was doing—the distributions and the empowerment schemes,” he said.
The lawmaker also linked his inability to secure a return ticket to his deteriorating relationship with Kwankwaso, whom he described as the “Jagora” (leader) of the movement.
“The reason I did not get a ticket was because ‘Jagora’ Kwankwaso was unhappy with my performance and activities,” Hanga said.
As of the time of filing this report, Kwankwaso or the Kwankwasiya movement had yet to react to Senator Hanga’s claims.
