Rabiu Kwankwaso has disclosed that he will only defect to any party that is willing to provide him a presidential or vice-presidential ticket in the 2027 general election.
The former Kano governor made the announcement while addressing his followers on Saturday, January 3
He also termed Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf’s anticipated move to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a betrayal.
Recall that Kwankwaso finished third in the 2023 presidential election, trailing President Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi.
However, Rabiu Kwankwaso is a major player in Kano politics. His huge impact among Kano’s grassroots is clear. His Kwankwasiyya movement has expanded to include municipal governments throughout the state.
In the 2023 election, he won 36 of 44 Kano local government areas as the presidential candidate of a small political party, receiving 979234 votes. His party, the NNPP, also defeated the reigning All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2022, with many citing Rabiu Kwankwaso, the NNPP’s leader, for his political skill.
He represented the Peoples Democratic Movement, led by Yar’adua. He then joined the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN), and then the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998, as part of the Kano People’s Democratic Movement.
Kwankwaso, a political figure known for his capacity to mobilize voters through his Kwankwashiya movement, was a two-term governor, minister, and senator who aspires to be the presidential or vice presidential candidate of any major political party.
14 things you probably did not know about Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the king of Kano politics
He was born on October 21, 1956
He attended Kaduna Polytechnic, where he earned a National Diploma and a Higher National Diploma in Civil Engineering
He attended Middlesex Polytechnic, where he underwent his postgraduate studies
He attended Loughborough University of Technology, where he earned a master’s in civil engineering
He holds a PhD in civil engineering from Sharda University, India
He began his career in 1975 at the Kano State Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency, rising to become Principal Water Engineer over 17 years
He was elected governor of Kano State in 1999 and served until 2003
He was re-elected in 2011 and served until 2015
He served as a Minister of Defence from 2003 to 2007 under the second tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo
He represented the Kano Central Senatorial District at the Senate of Nigeria from 2015 to 2019
He ran for President of Nigeria in 2015, 2018, and 2023 under different parties, including the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
He established the Kano University of Science and Technology and Northwest University, Kano
He introduced free school feeding and uniforms for primary school pupils, increasing enrollment from 1 million to 3 million
He awarded over 2,600 postgraduate and undergraduate foreign scholarships.