The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has described the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2023 elections, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as a “professional contestant” who would remain a “professional failure” in the race.
According to Ganduje, Kwankwaso had serially contested presidential elections on the platforms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), APC and the NNPP and failed.
The immediate-past Kano State governor made the assertions when he received the Bauchi State NNPP governorship candidate in the 2023 elections, Senator Haliru Dauda Jika, who formally returned to the APC at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ganduje said Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition would never be achieved as he pursued a selfish agenda even as he blamed his erstwhile boss for
not maintaining a principled stand in party politics over the years, a development he said was another factor that has made him a serial loser in the game.
“He (Kwankwaso) specialises in decieving people. He was first in PDP, came back to APC when it was formed. That was when the nPDP merged with the legacy parties to form the APC.
“Instead of staying in APC because of his ambition, he decided to leave APC after failing to pick the presidential ticket to go back to the PDP. He could not stay there again when he failed to pick the ticket.
“He still went on his own to contest the presidential poll and was defeated twice. He is a professional contestant for presidential elections and would remain a professional failure. He loves himself so much. I am happy you have dumped the red cap (Kwankwansiya trademark cap). It is a very sensible action that you have taken,” the APC national chairman told Jika.
Ganduje described the decision of Senator Jika to return back to the ruling party as a step in the right direction, noting that the former NNPP governorship flag bearer in Bauchi State by now must have realised that the Kwankwasiyya-backed NNPP as “deceitful and exploitative.”
Ganduje said: “When I got the news that you were coming to see me in my house to discuss the way forward, I knew I was meeting a very formidable politician in the person of Senator Jika, who is a household name in Bauchi State.
“He is returning to a party that is very progressive and focused. When we look at where he was coming from. He is coming from a party that used to be a decent party and highly respected but was later hijacked and polluted by the Kwankwasiya group.
“We are happy that the original NNPP is taking back its proper position and leaving the kwankwasiya group deserted and thrown out completely.”
Ganduje promised the returnee of inclusiveness in the running of the party in the state as part of ongoing effort to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 polls, emphasising that the party regretted its performance at the just-concluded general elections in the state.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, the former NNPP candidate said his decision to return to APC was sequel to the wishes of his teeming supporters back home in Bauchi State.
Jika said: “My dumping NNPP for APC has nothing to do with the presidential candidate of NNPP. I have no issue with Kwankwaso. The interest of Bauchi State informed my returning back to APC.”
