A file copy of former governor of Kano state, Alh. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council has accused a former Kano State governor, Senator 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’s Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegation in a statement on Friday while reacting to Kwankwaso’s interview on Channels Television.
He described Kwankwaso’s intervention as self-serving and capable of deepening divisions within the opposition.
Ologbondiyan questioned why Kwankwaso was directing his attention at opposition leaders rather than challenging the Tinubu administration, which the ADC-PCC said 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 suggested that Kwankwaso’s position was informed by his political ambition beyond 2027, alleging that the former governor was more concerned about positioning himself for the 2031 presidential election than building a united opposition.
He cited Kwankwaso’s reported description of the office of the vice-president as a “spare tyre”, arguing that his latest intervention raised questions about his intentions in the current political contest.
The council also dismissed the suggestion that Kwankwaso’s support was indispensable to any candidate seeking to win Kano State, his political stronghold.
Ologbondiyan recalled the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, arguing that former President Muhammadu Buhari secured victories in Kano without Kwankwaso’s support and that Atiku could equally make inroads into the state in 2027.
“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 alleged.
He added that Nigerians would not be distracted by what he described as political manoeuvres aimed at weakening opposition parties ahead of the next general election.
Ologbondiyan further questioned Kwankwaso’s political trajectory, citing his movement across different political platforms as evidence of what he characterised as persistent political repositioning.
He said Kwankwaso’s political journey from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, back to the PDP, and subsequently through the New Nigeria Peoples Party and other opposition platforms warranted scrutiny.
The ADC-PCC spokesman also challenged Kwankwaso’s claim to broad national political influence, pointing to his fourth-place finish in the 2023 presidential election.
“Kwankwaso must come to terms with the realities of the national political landscape. His influence should not be confused with the capacity to win a presidential election. If his political relevance were as extensive as he suggests, why did he finish fourth in the last presidential election?” he queried.
Contrasting the former Kano governor’s political base with Atiku’s national reach, Ologbondiyan described the former vice-president as a politician with extensive relationships across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
He argued that Atiku’s political networks across regional, ethnic, and religious divides would be central to the ADC’s efforts ahead of the 2027 election.
“Atiku Abubakar is a cosmopolitan, detribalised, and nationally recognised political figure who has built relationships across the North, South, East, and West over more than three decades,” he said.
Ologbondiyan also questioned whether Kwankwaso’s support for Obi was driven by a genuine commitment to opposition unity, alleging that the former governor was pursuing his own political interests in anticipation of future negotiations.
“There is a growing perception that Kwankwaso’s support for Peter Obi is driven more by his personal ambition than by a genuine commitment to the opposition’s collective objective of defeating the APC,” he said.
He maintained that Kwankwaso’s intervention could undermine the opposition’s efforts to present a united challenge to Tinubu in 2027, while urging him and his allies to reconsider their position.
The ADC-PCC called on Nigerians and the media to disregard what it described as an attempt to draw attention away from the administration’s record, insisting that opposition leaders should focus on addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.
“Our campaign, however, invites Kwankwaso and his allies to reconsider their position and support the formidable candidacy of Atiku Abubakar,” Ologbondiyan said.
“Atiku remains our preferred pathway to defeating President Tinubu and ending the hunger, poverty, and insecurity that the APC administration has foisted on our nation.”