Obi-Kwankwaso partnership will not work, Kwankwasiyya base lost — Sanusi Bature

Politics

LAGOS, Nigeria (NPA) — The Spokesperson to the Kano State Governor, Sanusi Bature, has dismissed the emerging political alliance between Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, insisting that the partnership would fail politically in Kano State and elsewhere.

Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV’s Morning Show monitored by our correspondent, Bature narrated the circumstances surrounding the movement of Abba Kabir Yusuf to the All Progressives Congress (APC) without Kwankwaso, his political benefactor and godfather, who recently defected from the African Democratic Congress to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to him, Kwankwaso was initially expected to meet with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to finalise plans to join the APC, but instead travelled to China. “He manoeuvred his way by recusing himself from moving to the APC,” Bature said.

He argued that Governor Yusuf could not afford to remain politically stagnant, insisting that the governor needed a viable platform to pursue his political ambitions and continue his developmental agenda in Kano State.

Bature claimed that the New Nigeria Peoples Party no longer has a sustainable political future as an opposition party, necessitating the move to the APC.

Speaking on the Obi-Kwankwaso alliance ahead of the 2027 elections, Bature insisted the partnership lacks political acceptance in Kano and in other northern states.

“It is strange for us to see Obi in Kano,” he said.

According to him, APC supporters in Kano believe there are contradictions in Kwankwaso’s alliance with Obi, recalling previous remarks allegedly made by the former Kano governor against the former Anambra governor.

“Kano cannot accept this partnership. This partnership, I believe, is just temporary. I don’t think it can work,” he stated.

Bature further alleged that Kwankwaso had lost a significant portion of his political support base in Kano. “Kwankwaso is alone because he has lost his support base in Kano, now moving to Obi so he can secure the support of the non-indigenes,” he said.

He also claimed that the Obi-Kwankwaso alliance would struggle to secure substantial votes in Kano and Jigawa States ahead of the election.

In another development, former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has described leading presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, as unelectable ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Amaechi made the remarks during a television interview on Tuesday amid growing expectations that Atiku could emerge as the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 polls.

According to Amaechi, Atiku has consistently struggled to convert presidential primary victories into electoral success at the general elections.

“At all times Atiku has passed the primaries; he has never won the election,” Amaechi said, describing the former vice president as unelectable.