As The Ex-governor Quits The PDP, Kwankwaso’s Associates Court Shekarau
On Thursday, key associates of former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso paid a visit to Ibrahim Shekarau in Abuja, adding a new twist to the political turmoil in Kano State.
According to sources, the visitors are attempting to persuade their ally’s bitter rival to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he quit ahead of the 2019 elections following Mr Kwankwaso’s readmission to the party.
Mr Shekarau joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the PDP relinquished control of the state to Mr Kwankwaso, who had been a member of the party since its founding in 1998 until defecting to the newly established APC in 2014.
Mr Kwankwaso now wants to leave the PDP for the New Nigeria Peoples Party, a lesser-known political party (NNPP).
Mr Shekarau, a former governor who is now a senator representing Kano Central, is likewise dissatisfied with the ruling APC. He and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje are at odds over the party’s dominance in the state.
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Former Governor Kwankwaso’s Chief of Staff, Adamu Dangwani, along with Danburam Nuhu, a former federal lawmaker; Yusuf Danbatta, a former commissioner; and Hadiza Adado, all long-time allies of Mr Kwankwaso, paid a visit to Mr Shekarau in Abuja on Thursday to discuss the changing political climate in the state.
According to reports, the lawmakers have sworn not to join Mr Kwankwaso’s NNPP.
Mr Kwankwaso has stated that he will leave the PDP this month.
The NNPP has dissolved its Kano state executive committee and nominated Haruna Doguwa, a loyalist of Mr Kwankwaso, as acting chairperson ahead of his arrival.
Mr Shekarau’s spokeswoman, Sule Ya’u, acknowledged the MPs’ visit to his principal.
He told reporters that Mr Dangwani and some “members of ‘PDP Kwankwasiyya’ faction led by a one time member of the House of Representatives Hon Danburan, paid a consultative visit to His Excellency Senator Ibrahim Shekarau at his residence in Abuja.”
The reason for Mr Ya’u’s visit was not revealed. Analysts have speculated that it was related to some members of Kwankwaso’s political family’s reluctance to rejoin him in abandoning the PDP.
According to sources, PDP politicians are attempting to persuade Mr Shekarau to rejoin the party as Mr Kwankwaso departs for the NNPP.
Mr Shekarau had defected from the PDP to the APC in the run-up to the 2019 election, claiming that the party’s national leadership had treated him unfairly.
He was contesting the PDP’s decision to give Mr Kwankwaso, who had recently rejoined to the party from the APC, 51% of its executive positions from state to ward levels.
As Mr Kwankwaso departs for the NNPP, there are rumors in the state that Mr Shekarau may re-join the PDP if he loses his case in the Supreme Court contesting Mr Ganduje’s control of the APC structure in the state.
Kano is the most populous state in Northern Nigeria, and both major political parties regard it as strategically important. In 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari received the greatest number of votes in the state, almost 1.9 million, a feat he replicated in 2019.
With the president no longer a candidate, the two parties are anticipated to compete for Kano’s large electoral field, which Mr Kwankwaso will also rely on if he runs for president in 2023.
