Abdullahi Ganduje, former national chairman of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), says the party is confident of defeating Rabiu
Kwankwaso in Kano, with the backing of Abba Yusuf, the governor.
Ganduje spoke in an interview with BBC News Hausa aired on
Monday, where he described Kano as a critical political stronghold ahead of the
2027 elections.
On March 30, Kwankwaso officially joined the African
Democratic Congress (ADC), aligning with key opposition figures including Atiku
Abubakar and Peter Obi, 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate.
Ganduje described Kwankwaso as “a bird hopping from one tree
to another”, saying his political influence is already weakening.
“We can use our political strategy to defeat him now,
especially since the Governor is on our side and that is the essence of
politics,” Ganduje said.
“His political journey is coming to an end; he joined a
major party filled with individuals who all want to contest for the Presidency.
This internal ambition will be their downfall, as they are already fighting
among themselves.”
He also pointed to what he described as the growing strength
of the APC nationally.
“Look at our party: even governors are joining us. In the
history of Nigerian politics, no party has ever held 32 state governors except
ours. These governors are joining willingly because they are genuinely
interested in the progress happening at the federal level,” he said.
Ganduje, who served two terms as governor of Kano, also
revisited the 2023 governorship election, where the APC lost to the NNPP.
“We did not win the last election. We took the case to
court, where two courts affirmed our victory, but the Supreme Court ultimately
decided against us. We accepted that as God’s will,” he said.
Ganduje added that the party had since begun rebuilding its
structure in Kano, including reaching out across political divides.
“We have not given up, and we are working to rebuild the APC
and make it strong enough to win again,” he said.
“Fortunately, the governor is a reasonable thinker. He
recognised the need to join the ruling party APC to be involved in national
governance rather than operating only within Kano State.”
GANDUJE REACTS TO GAWUNA’S RESIGNATION
Ganduje also reacted to the resignation of Nasiru Gawuna,
the APC governorship candidate in Kano during the 2023 elections, from the
party on the same day Kwankwaso joined the ADC.
He said he did not view Gawuna’s exit as a betrayal,
insisting there was no personal rift between them.
“Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna has not betrayed me, nor has he done
anything wrong. Democracy is driven by personal interest, and he is simply
pursuing his. We have never fought, and there are no personal issues between
us,” Ganduje said.
He suggested that Gawuna’s decision may have been influenced
by the governor’s entry into the APC.
“Perhaps Gawuna felt he wouldn’t have a fair chance to
contest since the governor would naturally seek re-election on the party
ticket,” he said.
Ganduje also dismissed claims of a strong alliance between
Gawuna and Kwankwaso in the ADC.
“His decision to align with Kwankwaso is because their
interests currently overlap. However, by God’s grace, they will not succeed in
their plans,” he added.
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