The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADC-PCC, has accused former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of advancing President Bola Tinubu’s political interests by calling on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to step down for Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The council described Mr Kwankwaso’s call as reckless, self-serving and an attempt to divide the opposition, insisting that Mr Atiku could win Kano State in the election with or without the support of the former governor.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated this while reacting to Mr Kwankwaso’s recent interview on Channels Television.
Mr Kwankwaso, a former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has been associated with Mr Obi’s political camp and the National Democratic Congress, NDC, amid realignments ahead of the 2027 election.
Mr Ologbondiyan accused the former governor of concentrating on opposition leaders instead of challenging the Tinubu administration, which he said many Nigerians were eager to vote out over economic hardship, hunger, poverty and insecurity.
“Rather than campaigning against President Tinubu, whose administration Nigerians are eagerly working to vote out, Kwankwaso is fixated on Atiku Abubakar, the ADC candidate, whom millions of Nigerians believe can restore economic stability and make life affordable again,” he said.
The ADC-PCC spokesman questioned Mr Kwankwaso’s motives, arguing that his intervention raised concerns about his political calculations ahead of the next general election.
“Why is Kwankwaso so obsessed with Atiku? The answer may lie in his own political calculations,” he said.
Mr Ologbondiyan also referred to Mr Kwankwaso’s reported description of the office of the vice-president as a “spare tyre”, suggesting that the former governor was more concerned about positioning himself for the 2031 presidential election than addressing the country’s immediate challenges.
He argued that Mr Kwankwaso’s actions appeared to benefit the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, by creating divisions among opposition parties.
The ADC-PCC spokesman further maintained that Mr Kwankwaso’s political influence in Kano should not be regarded as indispensable to any presidential candidate seeking victory in the state.
Citing the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, Mr Ologbondiyan recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari secured victories in Kano despite not enjoying Mr Kwankwaso’s support.
He argued that the same electoral history showed that Mr Atiku could win the state in 2027 without the former governor’s backing.
“What Kwankwaso is doing amounts to advancing President Tinubu’s interests. It is a familiar APC strategy to use willing collaborators within the opposition to create confusion, sow division and weaken the collective efforts to bring about political change,” he said.
“Nigerians are wiser than that and will not allow themselves to be distracted by political manoeuvres designed to rescue an unpopular administration.”
Mr Ologbondiyan also accused the former governor of placing personal ambition above the collective interests of opposition parties.
He alleged that Mr Kwankwaso’s support for Mr Obi was driven more by his own political ambitions and calculations ahead of 2031 than by a genuine commitment to defeating the APC in 2027.
The ADC-PCC maintained that the economic conditions confronting Nigerians would be more decisive in determining the outcome of the presidential election than the political influence of individual opposition leaders.
It expressed confidence that Mr Atiku’s candidacy would attract voters in Kano and other parts of the country, regardless of Mr Kwankwaso’s position.
The allegations are the latest indication of growing political disagreements among opposition figures as parties and their leaders position themselves for the 2027 presidential election.
Mr Kwankwaso’s call for Mr Atiku to step aside for Mr Obi has also brought the question of opposition unity and the choice of a common presidential candidate into sharper focus.