Former Kano state governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has denied claims that he is secretly supporting Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking during an interview on Global TV on Wednesday night, Kwankwaso said the rumours have existed since his time in the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and described the allegations as false.
The claims were recently made by Sanusi Bature, spokesperson for Kano governor Abba Yusuf, who alleged that Kwankwaso had been indirectly working for Tinubu’s political interests.
Bature also claimed the former Kano governor supported Tinubu during the 2023 election and had attempted to arrange a direct meeting with the president recently.
Reacting to the accusations, Kwankwaso said no sensible person should believe such stories. According to him, he is focused only on the activities of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Kwankwaso explained that although Tinubu remains his friend and senior political associate, it does not mean they share the same political direction or ideology.
“I think only foolish people would believe that. We are not working for anybody. We are only working for NDC,” he said.
“Bola Tinubu has been my senior brother and good friend up till now. But that doesn’t mean we shall pull all our political ideologies together with him.
“He is doing his own and I am doing my own.”
Kwankwaso also said he believes Tinubu may not fully understand the level of hardship and problems facing Nigerians because people around him are not giving him the correct information.
“Normally under the current circumstances, the president may not see what is happening. And unfortunately, most of the people around him are actually the ones creating the problems,” Kwankwaso said.
“So, in those circumstances, it is difficult to see who will advise him or tell him the obvious situation. What they normally tell and what they are doing is to pick governors. I think going by the number of governors now, APC is number one.”
The former governor further spoke about the political alliance involving Peter Obi, former Labour Party presidential candidate.
Kwankwaso and Obi recently joined the NDC, where discussions are ongoing about a possible joint presidential ticket ahead of 2027.
However, Bature had argued that any political partnership between Kwankwaso and Obi would not last long.
Responding to that criticism, Kwankwaso said his political group decided to support Obi because they considered him the strongest presidential candidate from southern Nigeria.
“When we joined the NDC, we invited all our leaders from the six geo-political zones and we sat down and looked at the situations. We then decided to come together and work as a family,” Kwankwaso said.
“The party, in its own wisdom, decided to zone the presidential ticket to the south. We looked around across the zones and we realised that Peter Obi is the best candidate. That was our assessment at that particular time.”
Kwankwaso said the coalition still has enough time before the 2027 election to convince Nigerians and build wider support across the country.
“I can’t start telling our viewers that I am popular. I think it’s up to the people out there to tell. We are just in the field, working very hard,” he said.
“We are trying to convince the people, even those who are going about telling lies to try to take advantage of our differences in the country, which should be our strength, we are working on that.
“And I am happy to say that we are very lucky because from now till January 16, 2027, we have about eight months, which is enough time.
“Those who are telling the lies, the lies will come out and people will also identify those who are telling the truth and are serious.”
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