2027: ADC Accuses Kwankwaso of Advancing Tinubu’s Political Interests

The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has accused former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, of advancing President Bola Tinubu’s political interests by urging former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race in favour of Peter Obi.

The council described Kwankwaso’s position as self-serving, alleging that his intervention could deepen divisions within the opposition and weaken efforts to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next general election.

The Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegations in a statement on Friday while reacting to Kwankwaso’s interview on Channels Television.

Ologbondiyan questioned why the former governor was calling on an opposition presidential candidate to step aside rather than focusing on challenging Tinubu’s administration over the country’s economic difficulties, poverty, hunger and insecurity.

He argued that opposition leaders should concentrate on presenting alternatives to the current government instead of engaging in disputes that could undermine cooperation among parties seeking to unseat the APC.

“Rather than campaigning against President Tinubu, whose administration Nigerians are eagerly working to vote out, Kwankwaso is fixated on Atiku Abubakar, the ADC candidate, whom millions of Nigerians believe can restore economic stability and make life affordable again,” Ologbondiyan said.

The ADC-PCC spokesman also questioned Kwankwaso’s political motives, suggesting that his call for Atiku to withdraw might be connected to his personal ambitions and calculations beyond the 2027 election.

He referenced reports that Kwankwaso had described the office of the vice-president as a “spare tyre”, arguing that the former governor might be positioning himself for future political negotiations and the 2031 presidential election.

Ologbondiyan further alleged that Kwankwaso’s actions reflected a political strategy that could benefit the APC by creating confusion and divisions among opposition figures.

“What Kwankwaso is doing amounts to advancing President Tinubu’s interests. It is a familiar APC strategy to use willing collaborators within the opposition to create confusion, sow division and weaken the collective efforts to bring about political change,” he said.

The campaign council also challenged the perception that Kwankwaso’s political influence in Kano State was indispensable to any presidential candidate seeking electoral support in the state.

To support its position, Ologbondiyan cited the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, when former President Muhammadu Buhari secured victories in Kano despite not having Kwankwaso’s backing.

He maintained that Atiku could attract substantial support in the state without relying on the former governor’s endorsement.

The ADC-PCC spokesman also questioned Kwankwaso’s ability to translate his political influence in Kano into nationwide electoral support, pointing to his fourth-place finish in the 2023 presidential election.

Kwankwaso, who is aligned with the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has called on Atiku to step aside in favour of Obi, the NDC’s presidential candidate, ahead of the 2027 election.

Atiku, meanwhile, is the ADC’s presidential candidate, placing the two opposition camps on different sides of the emerging debate over whether a common candidate could strengthen the challenge against the ruling party.

The allegations against Kwankwaso represent the ADC-PCC’s interpretation of his political position. The council did not present independent evidence establishing that the former Kano governor was acting in coordination with Tinubu or the APC.

The disagreement highlights the growing tensions among opposition leaders over candidate selection, political alliances and strategies for the 2027 presidential election.