Only a fool ’ll believe I’m working for Tinubu— Kwankwaso 

Former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has denied allegations that he is acting in the interests of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking on Wednesday night in an interview with Global TV, Kwankwaso said that the rumours have been circulating since his time with the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

Sanusi Bature, spokesperson for Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, had claimed that Kwankwaso, a former national leader of the NNPP, was indirectly working for Tinubu’s re‑election. Bature alleged that Kwankwaso had worked for Tinubu in 2023 and had recently sought a direct meeting with the president, which did not materialise.

Kwankwaso rejected the claims, stating that only foolish people would believe them.

“I think only foolish people would believe that. We are not working for anybody. We are only working for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC,” he said.

“Bola Tinubu has been my senior brother and good friend up until now. But that does not mean we should merge all our political ideologies with him. He is doing his own thing and I am doing my own.”

The former Minister of Defence added that, although he belongs to a different political party, he believes the president may not be fully aware of the country’s problems because those around him are not telling him the truth.

“Normally, under the current circumstances, the president may not see what is happening. And unfortunately, most of the people around him are actually the ones creating the problems,” he said. “So, in those circumstances, it is difficult to see who will advise him or tell him the obvious situation. What they normally tell and what they are doing is to pick governors. I think going by the number of governors now, APC is number one.”

On May 3, Kwankwaso and Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, joined the NDC, where they have been discussing a potential joint presidential ticket.

However, Bature said any political arrangement between the two would be short‑lived.

Kwankwaso replied that his camp decided to support Obi because it believes he is the best candidate from the south.

“When we joined the NDC, we invited all our leaders from the six geo‑political zones and we sat down and looked at the situations. We then decided to come together and work as a family,” he said. “The party, in its own wisdom, decided to zone the presidential ticket to the South. We looked around across the zones and we realised that Peter Obi is the best candidate. That was our assessment at that particular time.”

When asked whether he is popular across the North and how he would help Obi galvanise votes in the North‑East and North‑West, Kwankwaso said the coalition still has enough time to convince Nigerians before the general election.

“I can’t start telling our viewers that I am popular. I think it’s up to the people out there to tell. We are just in the field, working very hard,” he said. “We are trying to convince the people, even those who are going about telling lies to try to take advantage of our differences in the country, which should be our strength, we are working on that.”

“And I am happy to say that we are very lucky because from now till January 16, 2027, we have about eight months, which is enough time,” he added. “Those who are telling the lies, the lies will come out and people will also identify those who are telling the truth and are serious.”

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