The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign council has accused Rabiu Kwankwaso, vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), of undermining the opposition to advance President Bola Tinubu’s re-election chances in 2027.
In a statement on Friday, Kola Ologbondiyan, director of
media and publicity of the ADC-PCC, said Kwankwaso had been attacking
opposition leaders instead of criticising the Tinubu-led All Progressives
Congress (APC) government.
Ologbondiyan was reacting to Kwankwaso’s recent call for
Atiku Abubakar, the ADC presidential candidate, to step down for Peter Obi, the
NDC flagbearer, ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ologbondiyan described the call as reckless and
self-serving, alleging that it was an attempt to divide the opposition for the
APC’s benefit.
He said Kwankwaso should focus on strengthening the
opposition rather than undermining another opposition leader, adding that Atiku
would win Kano, the former governor’s home state, with or without his support.
“Rather than campaigning against President Tinubu, whose
administration Nigerians are eagerly working to vote out, Kwankwaso is fixated
on Atiku Abubakar, the ADC candidate, whom millions of Nigerians believe can
restore economic stability and make life affordable again,” he said.
“What Kwankwaso is doing amounts to advancing President
Tinubu’s interests. It is a familiar APC strategy to use willing collaborators
within the opposition to create confusion, sow division and weaken the
collective efforts to bring about political change.
“Nigerians are wiser than that and will not allow themselves
to be distracted by political manoeuvres designed to rescue an unpopular
administration.”
The ADC-PCC spokesperson further alleged that Kwankwaso’s
intervention was driven more by personal ambition and calculations for future
political negotiations than by a genuine desire to strengthen Obi’s chances.
“He appears to believe that by pushing the South-east
narrative, he can position himself for a future bargain with the ruling party.
It is an old-style political calculation that Nigerians are increasingly
unwilling to accept,” he said.
Ologbondiyan also questioned Kwankwaso’s political
consistency, citing his movement across different parties as evidence of what
he described as repeated political repositioning.
“From the PDP to the APC, back to the PDP, then to the NNPP,
the ADC, and now the NDC, Kwankwaso’s political journey calls for serious
reflection. His latest interventions appear to be taking him back into the
political shadows of the APC,” he said.
Contrasting Atiku’s political reach with Kwankwaso’s,
Ologbondiyan described the ADC candidate as a nationally established politician
with extensive networks across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
“Atiku Abubakar is a cosmopolitan, detribalised and
nationally recognised political figure who has built relationships across the
North, South, East and West over more than three decades,” he said.
“Kwankwaso, on the other hand, has concentrated much of his
political strength within Kano State. His ability to translate that regional
influence into broad national electoral success remains a major question.”
The ADC-PCC urged Nigerians to disregard what it described
as Kwankwaso’s attention-seeking intervention and support Atiku and the ADC’s
bid to “rescue, recover and rebuild” the country.
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