LP says Obi’s exit won’t affect 2027 chances
Former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has denied allegations that he is working for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
 
Also, the Labour Party (LP), yesterday, dismissed concerns that Obi’s exitwould weaken the party’s chances ahead of the 2027 general elections.
 
Though the Kwankwasiyya Movement leader admitted maintaining a cordial relationship with Tinubu, which he said had endured over the years, he said that should not be misconstrued.
 
Kwankwaso, who was the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election, dismissed the claim in a release issued by the Kwankwasiyya Movement yesterday.
 
The movement issued an outright disclaimer in response to comments by Sanusi Bature, spokesperson to Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, during a live TV programme, in which he claimed that Kwankwaso was indirectly supporting Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
 
Faulting the allegation, the Movement described the claim as false, saying only “foolish people” would go to the bank with Dawakin-Tofa’s claim.
 
“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.
  
Kwankwaso added: “Tinubu has been my senior brother and good friend up till now. But that doesn’t mean we shall pull all our political ideologies together with him. He is doing his own, and I am doing my own.”
 
The former Minister of Defence also criticised the Federal government, alleging that those around the President might be preventing him from fully understanding the realities in the country.
 
“Normally, under the present circumstances, the President may not see what is happening. Unfortunately, most of the people around him are actually the ones creating the problems
 
“So, in those circumstances, it is difficult to see who will advise him or tell him the obvious situation,” he said.
 
Kwankwaso further confirmed that political consultations were ongoing within NDC, adding that the coalition had agreed to support Peter Obi as its preferred southern presidential candidate.
 
“When we joined the NDC, we invited all our leaders from the six geopolitical zones, and we sat down and looked at the situations. We then decided to come together and work as a family.
 
“The party, in its own wisdom, decided to zone the presidential ticket to the south. We looked over the zones and realised that Obi is the best candidate. That was our assessment at that particular time,” he said.
 
Speaking on the coalition’s preparations for the 2027 election, Kwankwaso expressed confidence that there was still enough time to mobilise Nigerians nationwide.

THE National Chairman of LP, Nenadi Usman, gave the assurance during the screening of aspirants at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja ahead of the 2027 polls.
 
Responding to questions on whether Obi’s departure would affect the party’s strength, Usman said the growing number of aspirants seeking to contest on the LP platform showed that the party remained formidable.
 
She said, “Judging from the number of people who indicated interest in using the party as a platform to contest the election, I think the party is still strong. I’m happy that the screening process is pretty much a very wonderful exercise.

I am also impressed with the turnout of aspirants.”
 
On the number of presidential aspirants and the possibility of adopting consensus for the primaries, Usman reiterated that the party had zoned its presidential ticket to the South. She also announced that the leadership might decide its 2027 flag bearer through consensus at the primary.
 
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (LP, Abia South) declared that the party was positioned to sweep all elective offices in Abia during the 2027 elections.
 
Abaribe said the party-controlled state had demonstrated capacity through people-oriented projects executed by the administration of Governor Alex Otti.