Oluwatosin Enesi
Kwankwaso, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and came fourth with 1,496,687 votes, garnered major votes in Kano State, his political base.
He got his largest number of votes, 997,279, in Kano State, edging out even the APC, which was in power in the state at the time.
Ahead of the 2027, with the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) gasping for breath over long-standing internal crises, the ruling APC and President Bola Tinubu appeared poised for victory in 2027, but the recent emergence of the ADC coalition seems to have altered the political calculation.
Led by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, ex-governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who came third with 6.1 million votes in the 2023 presidential election, ex-governor Rauf Aregbesola, ex-Senate President David Mark, ex-Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi, the ADC coalition appears to be fast gaining momentum, attracting other political heavyweights across the country.
In an interview with PUNCH, Babachir Lawal, while describing Kwankwaso as a valuable asset to any political party, confirmed that there are ongoing efforts to win Kwankwaso over to the ADC camp.
Lawal stressed that Kwankwaso easily ranks among the political heavyweights that the ADC coalition is rooting for in its quest to remove Tinubu from power.
He said,“It will be a big advantage if he joins us. There are quite a number of friends from the coalition who love him to join us, that I know,” he said.
“I know people are meeting him (Kwankwaso). Obviously, he is welcome (into the ADC coalition) because he is in the category of those who will come with a large number of supporters. Either as Kwankwaso and his supporters or as Kwankwanso and the NNPP. Either way, they are welcome.”
Asked if the ADC coalition is also targeting the NNPP structures, the ex-SGF said,“The coalition is not about political parties, but about individuals moving into it. It is not the logo or letterhead paper that we’re after. It’s the people who make up those parties. They can come in individually or in groups. They are welcome.
“Even if KwanKwaso doesn’t join the ADC, quite a large number of some of his people will join us on an individual basis. Maybe some local government chapters of the NNPP will collapse into the ADC, while the national headquarters might not be inclined.
“Big individuals in the states are joining the ADC, but they are not saying they are joining us from the NNPP or the PDP. Atiku joined the ADC and he didn’t say the PDP is joining the ADC. So, we are targeting politically influential individuals in their communities. Politics is local; it is at that local level that action is important.”
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso has remained silent on his stance, deepening the political intrigue.
Our Reporter
