The leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has ruled out the possibility of collaboration or a power-sharing deal with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, citing a lack of trust.
Kwankwaso dismissed the growing speculations about a potential 2027 pact with Atiku, who ran for president on the platform of the PDP in the last election, and Obi, his counterpart from the Labour Party (LP), calling such rumours a “ruse.”
Atiku, Obi, and Kwankwaso were all prominent figures in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting from the party at different times. Only Atiku has since returned and remained in the PDP.
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Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate, said he was unwilling to fall victim to what he described as the “unpardonable deception” and antics of the PDP, which had caused the defection of many high-profile members.
Speaking on a Hausa BBC programme, Kwankwaso denied any meetings with Atiku or Obi regarding potential political cooperation. He also stated that discussions about 2027 politics could divert attention away from the focus on governance by both federal and state governments.
“I got information from sources purporting that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and I have met. But what I know is that nobody contacted me and I have not spoken with Atiku.
“Also, I have not spoken with Peter Obi because I decided that until the end of this year 2024, it is better to allow state governments and the Federal Government to work for the people and apply their wisdom in governance,” he said
Denying any involvement in the rumoured power-sharing plot, Kwankwaso labelled it a lie.
“The most annoying thing is that some people in the PDP told a group of about 45 (Islamic) scholars that there is a consensus that Atiku will rule for four years, Kwankwaso will subsequently rule for four years and Peter Obi, eight years; this is totally a lie, it is not true.
“This has infuriated me: why is it that elder statesmen in their 70s, 80s, will be spreading such lies to these scholars about something that has never existed?
“Such statements and deceits were part of things that made me and some other people leave the (PDP) party and now they have destabilised the party.”
