The 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has refuted allegations of agreeing with opposition leaders to alternate the presidency in the 2027 election.
Speaking on Radio France International (RFI) Hausa Service, Kwankwaso accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s camp of fabricating the claims. He alleged that Atiku’s team had been spreading false information to northern religious and political leaders about a supposed agreement involving himself, Atiku, and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
“I was terrified about the information I got that the PDP are meeting clerics and other leaders and in their last meeting, which involved about 45 clerics, that we reached an agreement that Atiku (Abubakar) will serve one term, and myself will also serve one term and Peter Obi will serve two terms. This is a lie, I never took part in any agreement,” Kwankwaso told RFI.
Expressing outrage, Kwankwaso said: “I was deeply angered about the information. Elderly people aged 70 to 80 years will sit and lie, telling clerics and other leaders something that never happened.”
He further stated, “I am still alive and healthy; there is no way you can assemble over 40 people without me having two or three among them that will inform me of what transpired in the meeting.”
Criticizing such behavior, he said: “This is not good for personality to lie. In such an incident, if a government is formed on the basis of lies, it’s like starting a foundation on a weak structure.”
Kwankwaso dismissed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a failing entity desperate to form alliances, stating, “With these lies, we can’t believe such people that they can only serve one term in office if you entrust them with leadership.”
He attributed the deceit and dishonesty to his decision, alongside Peter Obi, Nyesom Wike, and others, to leave the PDP. According to him, the PDP had degraded him and his supporters during their struggles, leading him to seek refuge in the NNPP.
Kwankwaso claimed that switching to the NNPP has brought him peace of mind and a sense of freedom from the lies and manipulations that characterized his time in the PDP.
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