NDC not intimidated by Tinubu’s political alliance- Kwankwaso

 

The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Musa Kwankwaso, says Peter Obi is the most competent and focused presidential candidate to deliver a better Nigeria in 2027. Kwankwaso says the party is not intimidated by the growing support for President Bola Tinubu among governors and political elites. He also defends the NDC’s position on fuel subsidy, insecurity and northern development. He spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today. DAVID LAWANI monitored the interview

 

 

How is your campaign progressing?

I believe we are doing very well. Our candidates and, of course, my humble self, are working around the clock. We are now concentrating more on contacts and visits. We have been to some states and will continue to move around so that every state and even many local governments will be touched before the general election on January 16. So, I can comfortably say that, so far, so good. Of course, we are going to do more from now until election day.

 

 

Are you intimidated by the support President Bola Tinubu is receiving from governors and political elites?

You see, the problem with the present governors is that I believe they are not good students of history. I remember I was governor between 1999 and 2003 and, for some obvious reasons, especially the emergence of Buhari, then a very popular presidential candidate, our elections were held together. The gubernatorial and presidential elections were conducted on the same day, for the first and, I believe, the last time. I lost an election then. Over the years, I think a lot of mistakes have been made by governors, to the extent that they themselves believe they are not competent enough to win elections on their own and therefore have to lean towards the President. I believe the President also thinks he cannot do it himself and has to lean towards the governors. I think that is the situation now. All of them believe that the other one would win the election. Before now, and I believe even now, many of them are contemplating or looking at ways and means of rigging the election. But the NDC is a party, and I am sure you know that His Excellency Peter Obi is very popular in the South. Our movement in northern Nigeria is also very strong—the Kwankwasiya movement and, of course, people who believe in this country and are looking for a way out.  Together, we have a very formidable team. I believe there is no governor, and not even the Villa, that is not concerned about the popularity of our candidate, the ticket itself and, of course, our party. They do not understand the dynamics now, but from now until election day, they will realise that the APC has made very serious mistakes over the years. I believe this is the time for them to get their results from the masses of this country.

 

 

What makes you believe the ruling party is planning to rig the election?

Normally, as politicians, if they realise that they are not popular and are not being loved by their people, the tendency is for them to start thinking of ways and means. We have heard many of them, especially through people around them, boasting that even if they get 1,000 votes, they will write the result for themselves. I think that is strange.

 

 

Do you have evidence that they intend to write election results?

We hear it from people around them, actually. You can understand that, especially when you ask what else they can do. They are not popular and are not being supported. We have not seen the usual good programmes and projects for the people. The major issues in this country are not being addressed—the issue of insecurity, especially in northern Nigeria; poverty, which everybody is aware of; and the cost of fuel and energy.

 

 

When you say the APC is unpopular, do you mean among ordinary Nigerians rather than the elite?

He was talking about elites. We are talking about the masses. You can see the fundamental difference. The people you see around them are mainly beneficiaries of the failure. That failure goes straight to people in the villages, towns and cities. People are in a very difficult situation today. Many of those who reside here in Abuja hardly know this. Some have left their villages and towns for many years and think everybody is as comfortable and as secure as they are here in Abuja or in their houses. That is the major difference. But I can tell you that outside here, and even here in Abuja, people are very angry and looking for a way out. I believe the only way out, in my opinion today, is to vote for the OK ticket—our presidential candidate, His Excellency Peter Obi, my humble self and the team as constituted today—for the positive change Nigerians are looking for.

 

 

What changed between your opposition to Peter Obi in 2023 and your decision to become his running mate in 2027?

Every day, people naturally become more experienced. They are bound to learn new things. If you look at 2023, the President was leaving the Villa, and there were many calculations from the southern side and from our own side. Some people started counting the number of years the South had spent in the Villa. We believed in 2023 that there was still room for the North to catch up with the years spent by the southern part of the country. That was one of the arguments, among many others. But the fact remains that in 2023, somebody from the South won the election and is now completing his term. From our own side, we believe that, as a compromise, there was a need to allow the Southerner to complete the term being started by the present administration. Therefore, we decided to look around and see if we could get a very competent and upright person with whom we could team up to complete that one term of four years. Between 2023 and the time we decided to work together, I was able to learn more about the candidates. Our team decided that there was a need for us to come together to support him, who was coming from the South. Going by what we had learned, we realised that he was the right person for us to work with. I did not know that he was that credible. I did not realise that he had that capacity to do things. We realised that our vision for the country was similar, and it was very easy for us to say, “Okay, let’s work together as leaders from the South and North to ensure the success of the party and, by extension, the success of this country.”

 

 

Does that mean you want Atiku Abubakar to abandon his presidential ambition in 2027?

Well, yes. I remember I had some people, coincidentally a group of Fulanis from across the country, who came for a courtesy visit to my house. I thought it was an opportunity to talk to them and ask them to create time before returning to their towns and villages to talk to him. His Excellency Atiku Abubakar is somebody I know fairly well, and we have done so much together in the past—in fact, more than anybody around him today. In 1993, he was in our group under the leadership of Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and he was our choice for the presidential candidate of the SDP. We supported him and did everything possible to make him our candidate. When that did not work, we also tried under Shehu Musa Yar’Adua to ensure that he got the vice-presidential ticket. It did not work. We thank Almighty God that we are still alive. In 1999, I was governor-elect when we elected His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo in Jos, the same Jos where we went in 1993. In 2003, we played a lot of roles. In 2007, almost 90 per cent of our votes from Kano as delegates were given to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. In 2015, all aspirants in the APC contested, with Buhari number one and I was number two. Rochas was number four and so on. What I am trying to say is that we are not against him. The truth is that we have worked together with him. Everything has its time. I was even surprised.

 

 

Do you believe Peter Obi will not seek a second term if elected in 2027?

That was the arrangement on the ground. But when he comes here, you should ask him.

 

 

Do you personally believe he will honour that agreement?

Of course, I believe him. He is a gentleman and somebody one can trust. When he says something, and we all agree and sign, I believe him.

 

 

Is there a signed agreement between both of you limiting the ticket to one term?

Of course, we have to agree and sign.

 

 

What exactly is the NDC’s position on fuel subsidy?

The candidates in 2023 said they would remove the subsidy. In fact, Atiku Abubakar was even saying he would sell the refineries. But on May 29, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in and declared that the subsidy was gone. In 2023, I was very clear that we were not ready in our party then to remove the subsidy. Our position was clear. If you look at all the debates, we said we would tackle the corruption associated with it, especially the ships bringing fuel to Lagos. We believed that if you remove the corruption—counting one ship or tanker many times from Lagos to elsewhere in the country—you could get an answer without necessarily removing the subsidy. That was our position within the oil industry. Now, we have seen the implication of removing the subsidy from day one. Until now, I think nobody has recovered from the shock of removing that subsidy on that day. We sat down many times and looked at all the issues. We looked at the history of His Excellency Peter Obi in Anambra, my humble self in Kano and the leader, His Excellency Seriake Dickson. Based on committees and everything we considered, I can tell you the NDC and, of course, our ticket, can be called the mother of all subsidies, because whatever we can do to ensure that the masses of this country get relief, we will do. Life now is like hell all over the country, especially in this part of the country. So, you are absolutely right: we are on the same page with His Excellency Peter Obi.

 

 

Does being on the same page mean the NDC will restore fuel subsidy?

Our collective position now is that the price of energy in this country is too high. Our position is that we are going to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the price of fuel in this country is brought down, including whatever we can do on subsidy.

 

 

Who does the North really listen to politically?

You can go out there yourself to find out. But we believe that Mallam Shekarau did not understand the mood of the nation, especially in northern Nigeria. If he did, I don’t think he could make that statement. People sometimes say things that please others, even when they know they are wrong. But I can tell you that the people of this country, especially northern Nigerians, are very interested in changing their circumstances. The only opportunity they have is to change the government and ensure that the right calibre of people are put in the right places so that, at the end of the day, we can have positive change.

 

 

What is the NDC’s plan to address insecurity in northern Nigeria?

That is why some of us have decided to bring this alternative. Ordinarily, everybody would have been in the APC, and the masses would have had no option other than to vote or stay at home. I am happy you know all those issues. Maybe those campaigning for the APC did not know the points you made about our situation in the country. And we are perfectly correct. It is not Tinubu’s problem; let us be clear. It is a problem he inherited. Even when Buhari was a northerner, insecurity was rife.

 

 

Are northern leaders doing enough to protect their people from insecurity and poverty?

I support what you have just said. Many of us in this part of the country are worried, to the extent that we are part of the larger North that wants change. I am also happy to say that the masses, as it stands today, are 100 per cent interested in change. If you look at the records, in the last election in 2023, this candidate of the PDP got 15,000 votes, while our governor got over one million votes. You can see the difference. I am happy to say that, so far, we have given the people an alternative to what is happening now. I believe that, at the end of the day, young men and women and people of goodwill will support this change so that our situation will change for the better.

 

 

What would an NDC government do differently to tackle insecurity?

As governor of Kano State, I believe we are a good example of leadership that would stand and protect its people. We worked very hard in many areas during my time as governor. We looked at education from primary through secondary to tertiary levels. In fact, we had free education in Kano. In my last year in Kano, there was nobody who wanted to go to primary school who could not get a place. The same applied to secondary education. We created two universities and 26 institutes, with free education at all levels, and we succeeded. In terms of empowerment, we empowered hundreds of thousands of young men and women. We also tackled agriculture, health and other areas. They are all part of security or insecurity. In 2012, Boko Haram did everything possible to come into Kano State. But the equipment and synergy we created among the police, SSS, military, civil defence and everybody else enabled us to work together as a family. We spent billions purchasing the necessary equipment. Somebody was telling me recently that the security agencies are still using the equipment, perhaps the only equipment they have in Kano. That is the main reason Kano has become like an island among the northwestern states in terms of security. We have all the necessary plans. I am sure our party will soon come out with a blueprint. Nigerians will see it. Many people may not even believe that we had free education from primary to university in Kano State for the eight years I was governor. They may not believe that we sent over 3,000 young men and women to foreign countries. There are many things our committees are working on now to ensure that we put our blueprint on the table.

 

 

Is the Kwankwasiya movement losing its political strength after Governor Abba Yusuf moved to the APC?

It was just like a virus. Everybody is moving—all the governors, almost all of them. It is not only in Kano. Many other states are experiencing the same thing. Everybody is moving because I believe they lack the confidence to go it alone, and everybody is looking for the other person to come and form a team. Unfortunately, the team now is faulty. If you are coming for the first time, you can tell people what you intend to do. But after four years, it is not what you say; it is what you have done. The opportunity you had will work for you or against you.

 

 

Does that make President Tinubu a better politician than you?

I don’t believe so. What I think is that all of them found themselves in a very difficult circumstance, lacking the confidence to go it alone. Everybody is looking for the other to come and form a team. Unfortunately, the team now is faulty. And all this is despite the level and amount of money collected—over a trillion. That is their budget.

 

 

Is the increased revenue available to governors a consequence of subsidy removal?

When I was governor, even in the last month I was leaving, we were getting N4bn as state plus anotherN4bn for the local government—N8bn per month.

 

 

So are you saying governors are now receiving more money because of subsidy removal?

That is what I am saying. That is the impact of removing subsidies. Governors are getting more money.

 

 

What is your response to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s description of Peter Obi as a master of bogus statistics?

What else would you expect him to say? I always listen to him. Like all others, I take time to check the statistics. As far as I am concerned, most of the figures he referred to were correct. As human beings, we are bound to make mistakes or have a slip of the tongue. But for him to make that statement, I don’t think he was correct. I am happy that a presidential candidate is somebody who is conversant with statistics, not only in this country but all over the world—in Europe, Asia and everywhere. I think that is a good thing.

 

 

What is your final message to your supporters?

I want to tell our supporters, especially in Kano, that our gubernatorial candidate, His Excellency Comrade Aminu Gwarzo, unfortunately, recently had his name omitted from the INEC register. Of course, the party and our representatives went to them, but there was no answer. They asked our party to write to them, which we did. I hope INEC will correct that.