Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, says he’s game to team up with any party ready to put him on the ballot as presidential or vice-presidential material.
Kwankwaso made it clear the movement will keep talking to like-minded groups, but it won’t trade its core beliefs for a deal.
“Any partnership has to share our ideology and agree on who gets which seat,” he told supporters in Kano. “We want people who see eye-to-eye with us—folks who will accept me as number one or number two on the ticket.”
The former Kano governor spoke amid chatter that the state’s NNPP governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, may cross over to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Kwankwaso warned that if Yusuf bolts, he should hand back the governorship. “He’s our only sitting governor. If you already have 30, why chase the one we’ve got? Let whoever is pushing him tell him to drop the mandate first—Government House isn’t a private heirloom.”
Calling the turmoil in Kano “a nightmare,” Kwankwaso urged instigators to back off for the state’s sake. “Some of what’s unfolding is hard to believe. I keep wishing I’d wake up and find none of it happened.”
He said he’s been meeting key players behind closed doors to steer the state off what he called a dead-end road. “I’ve talked to everyone I can, arguing that the path they’re on helps nobody in Kano.”
With at least a year left in the current NNPP administration, he pressed for unity so projects can still reach the people. “We’ve got twelve months—if we pull together, residents will see results. Instead, some are busy hunting for excuses to defect.”
“This isn’t the moment for civil war inside the family,” he added. “It’s time to figure out how we move forward.”
