A chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Engr. Buba Galadima, has dismissed the possibility of an alliance between President Bola Tinubu and former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday night, Galadima accused the Tinubu-led administration of betraying Kwankwaso and the NNPP in Kano State by providing support to the deposed Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, despite his lawful removal by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
“How can Kwankwaso be a friend of the APC with what they are doing to us in Kano? Appointing two emirs in one town? There is a Federal Government emir and a State (appointed) emir. Who’s got the responsibility to appoint emirs and pay them their salaries?” Galadima queried.
He alleged that the Federal Government was propping up the 15th Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, with heavy security while neglecting worsening insecurity in parts of the State.
“They have their Emir. They have not less than 40 pickup vehicles filled with mobile policemen guarding the Emir (Ado Bayero). In some localities in Kano, they are killing people and taking their handsets, and the police are tied down. Are they not ashamed?” he asked.
The NNPP stalwart maintained that his party, not the APC, would hold the key to Nigeria’s next presidential election outcome.
“We are the people who will determine who will be the President of Nigeria in 2027,” he declared.
Galadima, therefore, dismissed claims that Kwankwaso was considering an alliance with Tinubu.
“Let anybody come out and tell me that he met Kwankwaso and he canvassed or persuaded him or coerced him to join the APC. I assume if anybody talks to him about that, I ought to know. He is the strongest political Iroko in this country today because he dared the APC and defeated them at their game in Kano,” he said.
LEADERSHIP reports that the tussle over the Kano Emirship has heightened political tensions in the state. In 2014, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II succeeded the late Emir Ado Bayero. Six years later, he was deposed by the then Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, who in his place installed Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir.
In May 2024, Governor Abba Kabir reinstated Sanusi II, sparking legal battles and a security standoff. Federal security operatives continue to guard Ado Bayero’s palace despite his removal, a situation Galadima said amounted to federal interference in the State’s affairs.
“In the first place, was it not Tinubu who canvassed for Sanusi II to become Emir (in 2014)? Let him come out and tell me that he didn’t, and I will give him instances,” he claimed.
According to Galadima, the Federal Government’s backing of Bayero was politically motivated. “They think he would help them in the 2027 elections, but no Kano Emir has ever determined the victory of a Nigerian president,” Galadima argued.
LEADERSHIP reports that since 1999, Kano has consistently delivered the highest voter turnout in presidential elections. In 2023, the state recorded about 1.7 million votes, with Kwankwaso of the NNPP polling 997,279 votes to Tinubu’s 517,341. Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party trailed with 131,716 and 28,513 votes, respectively.
Kwankwaso, however, finished fourth nationally with total 1,496,687 votes, while Tinubu emerged winner with 8,794,726. Despite this, the NNPP’s dominance in Kano, winning 38 of 44 LGAs, underscored the party’s political weight in the North.
At present, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP controls Kano State, but the APC holds two of the state’s three senatorial districts, keeping the contest finely balanced ahead of 2027.
