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Abdullahi Ganduje, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed confidence that the party can defeat Rabiu Kwankwaso in Kano, citing support from Governor Abba Yusuf.
Speaking in an interview with BBC News Hausa aired on Monday, Ganduje described Kano as a key political battleground ahead of the 2027 elections.
Kwankwaso recently joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on March 30, aligning with opposition figures such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
Ganduje criticized Kwankwaso’s political trajectory, likening him to “a bird hopping from one tree to another,” and argued that his influence is waning.
He said the APC is well-positioned to defeat him, especially with the governor’s backing, adding that internal rivalries within the ADC could weaken the opposition.
Ganduje also pointed to what he described as the APC’s growing national strength, noting that the party currently has an unprecedented number of governors joining its ranks, which he attributed to confidence in federal-level progress.
Reflecting on the 2023 Kano governorship election, which the APC lost to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ganduje said the party challenged the outcome in court. Although two lower courts ruled in its favour, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the NNPP’s victory, a decision he said the party accepted.
He added that the APC has since been rebuilding its structure in Kano and engaging across political lines to regain strength.
Ganduje also commented on the resignation of Nasiru Gawuna, the APC’s 2023 governorship candidate in Kano, who left the party on the same day Kwankwaso joined the ADC.
He dismissed any suggestion of betrayal, saying Gawuna was acting in his own interest and that there was no personal conflict between them. Ganduje suggested Gawuna’s decision may have been influenced by the governor’s move toward the APC, which could limit his chances of securing the party’s ticket.
He further downplayed reports of a strong alliance between Gawuna and Kwankwaso in the ADC, saying their cooperation is based on temporary shared interests and expressing confidence that their plans would not succeed.