In a recent meeting held in France, President-elect Bola Tinubu and Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), engaged in discussions that have ignited a firestorm of controversy among leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano.
Reports indicate that the four-hour meeting between Tinubu and Kwankwaso revolved around various topics, including the possibility of Kwankwaso joining the incoming cabinet.
This development has not been well-received by certain APC leaders in Kano, leading to escalating tensions within the party.
Abdulmajid Kwamanda, an APC leader in Kano, vehemently opposed any appointment being offered to Kwankwaso, even suggesting that the role of a messenger should be denied to him.
“We in the North West do not welcome Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to our party APC. We do not accept the idea of Bola Tinubu giving him any appointment even as low as a messenger in our dear party. Should Tinubu ignore our outcry and appoint Kwankwaso, we are going to disrupt the entire APC in the north and withdraw our support for him, ,” Kwamanda had told reporters.
Following Kwamanda’s statements, an audio recording of a phone conversation between Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Ibrahim Masari, a former placeholder vice presidential candidate of the APC, surfaced.
In the leaked audio, Ganduje expressed his discontent with the way the president-elect handled the meeting with Kwankwaso.
Ganduje lamented the lack of communication from Tinubu regarding the meeting and questioned why he wasn’t involved in the discussions.
He appeared frustrated that Tinubu might view Kwankwaso as an alternative to their faction within the APC.
“What could I have told him? Now he (Tinubu) is seeing Kwankwaso as an alternative to us? No problem. Because we don’t have a government? And it’s even because of him (Tinubu) we lost the government in any way,” The governor was heard saying.
Masari, a known ally of Tinubu, attempted to pacify Ganduje and advised him not to react angrily to the situation. He encouraged the governor to remain calm until their scheduled meeting with Tinubu in Abuja on Thursday.
Governor Ganduje subsequently traveled from Kano to Abuja, with plans to meet with Masari before their scheduled meeting with Tinubu upon his return to the country.
When approached for comment, Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ganduje, refrained from offering a response, neither confirming nor denying the authenticity of the leaked audio conversation.
The audio recording underwent thorough verification by Daily Trust investigative team, which found no evidence of manipulation.
The situation remains tense within the APC as disagreements persist over the Tinubu-Kwankwaso meeting, with Kano leaders threatening to disrupt the party’s activities in the northern region.
The developments will likely have a significant impact on the political landscape as the president-elect prepares to assume office.
