Kwankwaso working for Tinubu in 2027, alliance with Obi temporary – Abba Yusuf’s aide

Kano State Governor’s aide, Sanusi Bature, has alleged that former Kano governor and national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is indirectly working for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.

Bature made the claim during an interview on ARISE News, where he also dismissed a proposed political alliance between Kwankwaso and former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, describing it as temporary and unlikely to survive.

According to him, the NNPP is no longer strong enough to serve as a viable platform for the 2027 elections.

“The NNPP is no longer a formidable platform for 2027. There was an agreement among critical stakeholders, including Rabiu Kwankwaso, to find a lasting solution ahead of 2027 because the NNPP cannot fly on its own,” Bature said.

He claimed that consultations had taken place among key political actors in Kano on possible realignments, including joining the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

“With Kwankwaso’s consent, we approached Tinubu and the APC as our Option A to explore joining the party, so that the possibility of joining FEC can come into play,” he said.

Bature further alleged that Kwankwaso initially wanted to meet President Tinubu directly over the political discussions but later abandoned the process.

“Kwankwaso insisted on speaking to President Tinubu before any possible defection. However, after a date was set, he cancelled the appointment, saying he was going to China, and never rescheduled,” he said.

Speaking on the proposed Obi-Kwankwaso alliance, Bature said such a ticket would be difficult to sell in Kano.

“A Peter Obi-Kwankwaso ticket in Kano is strange. Kwankwaso, a PhD holder, deputising Obi, who only holds a first degree, does not look like the Kwankwaso we know. I do not see this partnership working,” he said.

He argued that Kwankwaso had lost a major part of his political structure following the defection of some of his supporters to the APC.

“The balance is now Kwankwaso is alone. He is a lone politician with maybe 30 to 40 per cent of his followership before our defection. Now we have moved with like 70 per cent of the Kwankwaso supporters to APC,” Bature said.

He also said an Obi-Kwankwaso ticket would not perform strongly in Kano in 2027.

“Kwankwaso-Obi ticket cannot fly in Kano. Kwankwaso alone under NNPP was able to secure over a million votes in Kano in 2023. But believe me, in 2027, with Obi as presidential candidate and Kwankwaso as vice presidential candidate, that ticket cannot secure one million votes in Kano,” he said.