Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has dismissed suggestions that his exit from the African Democratic Congress has created a split in the opposition. Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Monday, Kwankwaso said that he and Atiku Abubakar may yet work together before the 2027 general election. He explained that his move to the Nigeria Democratic Congress alongside Peter Obi was not due to personal conflict but stemmed from unresolved issues within the ADC.
Kwankwaso stated, “Now, we may still work together before the election. I personally, and I think even Obi himself, decided to leave ADC not because we are fighting with Atiku or anybody there. We decided to leave that party because we realised that there are some issues.” He added that the ADC was currently facing three major unresolved problems that could make it difficult for the party to field candidates. Regarding the opposition's future, he remarked, “Whether they will be able to field candidates in that party or not is just a matter of time. It’s not like we had a primary election.”
The former governor was responding to claims by Atiku that the popularity of Kwankwaso was limited to Kano State. Atiku, who is seeking the presidency on the ADC platform, had described himself as the most popular politician of northern extraction. Kwankwaso declined to engage the comments directly, noting that he bore no grudge. He said, “Politics is just like a game. I’m not fighting anybody and I’m not expecting anybody to fight me. I have no issue with that. I think we are past that level now.”
Addressing predictions of a split vote in Kano, Kwankwaso urged critics to wait for the results. He said, “Let’s wait for the election and see whether votes are split in Kano or not.” He also highlighted his history of working with Atiku, recalling that he served as the northern coordinator for the former vice president during the 2019 presidential election. He stated, “There was an election in 2019 in Port Harcourt. He won the election. I was his coordinator for the north. We worked for him.” Kwankwaso traced their relationship back to the 2015 APC presidential primary where he placed second and Atiku placed third.
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