Kano APC dismiss Kwankwaso’s bid to return to the party

….he is neither sought nor welcomed

The saying that all politics are local seems to be playing out in the move being made by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to make the former governor of Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, back into its fold before the 2027 general election.

This expression best captures the political drama playing out bout the possible return of Kwankwaso to APC, as the Kano chapter of the party, which dismissed the condition spelt out by Kwankwaso for his anticipated return to the party.
It is reported recently that Kwankwaso, who is the leader of the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), demands that he can only return to the AP if he is allowed to move with his Kwankwasiyya Group.

Responding to the demand, Ahmed Aruwa, the APC’s media officer in Kano, while speaking on behalf of the state leaders of the party, said Kwankwaso’s remarks were misleading and that the party neither sought nor welcomed his return.

“He disregarded the fact that joining a party has proper channels and procedures. If Kwankwaso wants to return, he knows how to formally convey that, not through public conditions,” Aruwa told journalists on Thursday in Kano.

He also denounced Kwankwaso’s assertion that he was among the pioneers of the APC in Kano. “That is not true. It was former governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau who actually led the formation of APC in Kano. Kwankwaso cannot rewrite history,” he said.

The APC spokesman said the party would win the 2027 elections without Kwankwaso’s influence. “Even in 2023, it was APC that won the election, not the NNPP. We are confident that we will win again in 2027 without him,” he said.

He further alleged that Kwankwaso had joined the APC in the past under conditions. “It was given to him under conditions that he would align with the APC. We have solid facts, and we will expose them at the appropriate time,” Aruwa said.

Responding to reports that Kwankwaso wanted the APC governorship ticket in exchange for returning, Aruwa called the demand unrealistic.

“The conditions we are hearing that our governorship ticket should be handed over to him or his candidate, are totally unacceptable. The APC already has strong aspirants — Senator Barau Jibrin, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna and AA Zaura, among others. There is no vacancy for Kwankwaso’s conditions,” he said.

But Kwankwaso’s long-time ally, Buba Galadima, dismissed suggestions the former governor planned to rejoin the APC, insisting his comments had been misinterpreted.

“Nobody will tell Kwankwaso politics. I believe there is a merger, but we are not in a hurry to merge with any party,” Galadima said.

He added that Kwankwaso had only been responding to pressures from NNPP members who wanted to defect to the APC.

Asked what conditions Kwankwaso might set if he chose to return, Galadima declined to comment. “I won’t say anything about it because it is not time for that yet,” he said.

Galadima also challenged the APC’s claim that it won the 2023 polls in Kano. “The APC claimed it won 50,000 votes from Bagwai and Shanono in 2023, but in the recent by-election, they got only 5,000 votes. That tells you who truly has the people’s support,” he said.