2027: Kwankwaso explains Obi alliance, declares Ganduje, Yusuf finished

August 17, 2026 1:48 am

Former Kano State Governor and 2027 Nigeria Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said his decision to pair with Peter Obi in next year’s presidential election was driven by national interest, equity and the need for political change.

He also declared that former governors Ibrahim Shekarau and Abdullahi Ganduje, as well as incumbent Governor Abba Yusuf, have lost their political relevance in Kano State.

Vice-Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress in the 2027 election, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, says former governors Ibrahim Shekarau and Abdullahi Ganduje, as well as incumbent Governor Abba Yusuf, are politically finished in the state.

Kwankwaso stated this while reflecting on the political fortunes of former members of his political family who had fallen out with him.

While featuring on the News Agency of Nigeria Personality Interview Series on Sunday in Abuja, he said his decision to be the running mate to Obi in the 2027 election was based on national balance, equity and democratic change.

He explained that his experience from the 2023 election had helped him understand Obi better, adding that he was convinced that both of them could work together in the interest of the country.

Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, said the decision was also influenced by the need to allow the South to retain the presidency for another term after the completion of the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

“People learn every day, and that is why experience is very important. In 2023, we attempted to work together and at that particular point, I knew little about Peter Obi.

“But over these last four years, I was able to learn a lot and realised that Peter is somebody that I could work together with,” he said.

He said the decision was reached after consultations with members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, supporters of the New Nigeria Peoples Party and the Obidient Movement.

He said the groups believed that the country needed a balanced ticket capable of attracting support from both the North and the South.

Kwankwaso said the security challenges confronting the country, alongside declining agricultural productivity and deteriorating infrastructure, had further strengthened his resolve to support a political arrangement capable of bringing democratic change.

He said economic hardship had particularly affected farmers, especially in Northern Nigeria, where agricultural production had become increasingly difficult and unprofitable.

The former defence minister said the dilapidation of infrastructure across the country, except in some areas such as Lagos, was another reason for agreeing to pair with Obi.

He said the current situation required the kind of democratic change that Nigerians sought in 2015, adding that the need for such change was now greater.

Kwankwaso said the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket would provide a combination of regional balance, competence and credibility.

“Nobody, no ticket can beat our own in terms of credibility, in terms of capacity and of course, in terms of love for the country; even in terms of empathy for the poor that are suffering across the country today,” he said.

He explained that agreeing to serve as vice president was not a setback for him, despite his extensive political experience, including serving as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, governor, minister and senator.

“I have never been the vice president. I think it is a step forward despite all the things you counted,” he said.

Kwankwaso said his decision was based on broader national interest rather than personal ambition, stressing that public office should primarily be viewed as an opportunity to serve.

“To me, being in government is to serve. I don’t have to be president. I don’t have to even be vice president. These are things that are in the hands of Almighty Allah.

“But the fact remains that the situation, as it is today, one has to look at it beyond your humble self,” he said.

He said the agreement with Obi was for the South to produce the president for one term, after which the political arrangement would return to the North.

Kwankwaso cited historical examples of political leaders who had accepted positions below what they could have attained, including Sir Ahmadu Bello, who chose to remain Premier of Northern Nigeria rather than becoming Prime Minister.

He also said Nigerians should understand that service could be rendered at different levels, including as councillor, local government chairman, legislator, governor, minister, vice-president or president.

According to him, political leaders should be prepared to serve wherever they are needed, rather than considering certain offices beneath them.

He dismissed claims by political opponents that his political engagements with the All Progressives Congress or other parties were contingent on securing either the presidential or vice-presidential ticket.

Kwankwaso said discussions he held with President Bola Tinubu after the 2023 election were about working together and not about abandoning the NNPP or securing a particular position.

He said he had previously played a major role in the APC’s electoral victory, particularly through the votes recorded in Kano in 2015, but became disappointed with the party’s leadership after the election.

The former governor said his confidence in the Obi-Kwankwaso alliance was strengthened by what he described as Obi’s commitment to fairness, justice and national unity.

He said the arrangement would also ensure that the North would not be disadvantaged, stressing that the one-term understanding was important in securing the confidence of his supporters.

Kwankwaso said he was confident that Obi would respect the agreement and work with him as a partner rather than treat the vice-president as a “spare tyre.”

He said his experience as deputy speaker, minister and governor had taught him the importance of allowing deputies to function effectively.

According to him, a president or governor who gives his deputy meaningful responsibilities ultimately strengthens the government because the success of the deputy also benefits the principal.

He said he was therefore comfortable with the proposed arrangement and had confidence that Obi would allow him to contribute meaningfully to governance.

“Power will be shared according to the needs of the country. We should not be in a hurry to go and take anybody on the streets or anybody we remember.

“We will make sure that we have competent people because from our experience, the president and vice president cannot do it alone,” he said.

He also described as unsustainable any political success built through “treachery,” adding that his experience over the past two and a half decades had shown that those who betrayed their political allies usually went into political oblivion.

“You cannot succeed with treachery. I have not seen one. Now we have taken about two and a half decades.

“If I ask you, I’m sure you don’t know; he is going into political oblivion. He is nowhere,” Kwankwaso said, referring to one of his erstwhile political associates.

He specifically cited Ganduje, who served as his deputy for eight years before succeeding him as governor in 2015, and what he called his dwindling political fortunes.

According to him, Ganduje’s political career would have been better had he maintained the political structure they both built together, describing the former governor’s current situation as a consequence of his decision to part ways with him.

“If you can even see the issue of Ganduje, who we came together and supported, and became governor free of charge. The day when he started fighting was the beginning of his problem. If I may ask: where is he now? It is difficult to see him,” he said.

Kwankwaso said Ganduje could have commanded greater respect in Kano and beyond had he remained committed to the political structure, adding that the former governor now had significant political challenges.

He also criticised Yusuf for allegedly abandoning those who worked for his emergence as governor.

Kwankwaso said the choice of Yusuf as his preferred candidate was based partly on the need to avoid a repeat of what he described as Ganduje’s actions.

“Abba Yusuf: we went down, right down, to make sure that we picked the right person who would not go and repeat what Ganduje had done.

“Members of my political group worked day and night to field Yusuf in the 2019 governorship election, which Yusuf won before the result was overturned through litigation,” he stated.

He said the same political structure returned in 2023 and successfully secured Yusuf’s election as governor, despite attempts to deploy similar tactics against the party.

Kwankwaso, however, said Yusuf had since distanced himself from the political camp that brought him to power.

“He left us, but he is not with Ganduje now. He is in between because I don’t think he is happy for anybody to call him Dan Gandujiyya,” he said.

He said Yusuf’s decision to allow himself to be publicly identified with Ganduje had also created political difficulties for him.

Kwankwaso further alleged that Yusuf was now attempting to supplant him as the dominant political figure in Kano, despite his continued influence in the state.

“People have no patience, and that is why they are making those mistakes. It is just a matter of patience,” he said.

The former governor said the struggle for political succession and control was not peculiar to Kano, describing it as a recurring feature of Nigerian politics.

He recalled a conversation with President Bola Tinubu in which the President asked him to go and reconcile some political differences with Ganduje.

Kwankwaso said he responded by drawing attention to the fate of several politicians who had once been close political associates of the President but were no longer prominent in his political circle.

He cited former Lagos State Deputy Governor Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele and former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as examples.

“I told him that when I come here, I don’t see Bucknor. When I come here, I don’t see Ambode. I started counting the people,” he said.

Kwankwaso, who said that his experience had shown the transient nature of political relationships, added that political colleagues could become distant in spite of having worked closely together before.

Kwankwaso, however, singled out former Osun State Governor, Chief Bisi Akande, as one of the few political associates he still regarded as a friend.

He said political relationships often resembled those formed in school, where former classmates could maintain bonds in spite of differences in their political careers.

“It’s not very peculiar to Kano, but I think the Kano experience is special out of the general lots,” Kwankwaso said.

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