Former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, has accused the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, of betrayal and manipulation, which is the reason for his cross carpeting between two political parties within a short period of 3 months.
BASIC FACTS
- Former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau has accused Musa Kwakwaso another former Governor of the state and presidential of NNPP of betrayal.
- Shekarau was invited into the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) from the All Progressive Congress (APC).
- Signs of disagreement emerged between both parties in a short period into their new political alliance and in three months, it was all over.
WHAT WE KNOW
Former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, has accused the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, of betrayal and manipulation.
Ibrahim Shekarau who is now a current senator further disclosed that the alleged betrayal was his reason for his decision to cross carpeting between two political parties within a short period of 3 months.
Shekarau who spoke on a current affairs news programme, monitored by Clariform reporter, said the least way to describe what happened between him and the NNPP presidential aspirant, who is also a former Governor of Kano State is betrayal and manipulation.
The serving Senator representing Kano Central District and former Minister of Education insinuated that he threw away his re-election to the red chamber by joining the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, Shekarau in the same program boasted that his new party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP will clear every position in Kano State come 2023.
Speaking on the crisis that led to his movement from the NNPP to the PDP, Shekarau reiterated how he joined the NNPP in May with an understanding with the Kwakwanso`s group on how both camps will provide candidates for the 2023 general elections.
According to him, Kwakwanso did the opposite of the alleged agreement between both parties.
He said that the NNPP presidential candidate gave him a senatorial form when he joined the party but said Kwankwaso released a list that shut out his political associates who aspired elective offices.
Shekarau said himself and Kwankwaso resolved to set up a nine-man committee to harmonise the lists for both camps to have representative tickets but the committee given three days spent three months till the end of the deadline by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the submission of names elapsed.
Senator Shekarau equally argued that Kwakwanso’s claim on BBC Hausa that they joined the party late is far from the truth.
Shekarau said Kwankwaso was wrong that he joined the NNPP late and shouldn’t have agreed to setting up a committee to harmonise the lists.
NOTABLE QUOTES
In the TV programme, Shekarau said the following, “I think that is the least you can call it; betrayal and outright disregard, outright manipulation,” he said Thursday on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme when asked whether he felt Kwankwaso betrayed him.”
“Our guiding principles is the protection of our image, the protection of our integrity and you cannot have the protection of our integrity if there is no going to be integrity, if there is not going to be sincerity,” he added.”
“PDP will clear the votes in Kano,”
“We joined the party on the 18th of May. Long before then, almost two weeks earlier on, through my discussion with him, we made our proposals. At that time, it was the period of generating candidates of the various political offices to be contested in the 2023 general elections – state assembly, national assembly, governorship and senatorial seats.”
“We sat down with Rabiu Kwankwaso. I submitted this proposal, he accepted it and he said in about one or two, three days, he’s going to prepare his proposal. And then I together with him will sit down to sort ourselves out and harmonise and see what we can do to produce electable people in our various constituencies”.
“The same 18th of May by the night, midnight, we saw a list released by the party leadership in the state, handwritten list of candidates by their constituencies and indicating as having solved the entire constituencies’ candidate.”
“In fact, in the list released on the 18th by the night, even some constituencies had no name. The following morning I met him (Kwankwaso) and I challenged the list released, we said this is unacceptable because in the entire list, except my name, no any other name from our own movement from our own political association was reflected on the list”.
“We convened a meeting, I had to call a meeting of my political associates, to brief them as to what we went through for three months. And we set up a committee of 30 to go and review the situation, we still did not make it public.”
“But to our surprise, few days later, my brother Rabiu Kwankwaso was on air on the Hausa service of the BBC, saying that there was no way we could be attended to, because we joined the party when it was too late,”.
COMMENTARY
Recall that Ibrahim Shekarau, former Governor of Kano State and former Minister of education, also a serving senator had last May left the ruling APC to team up with Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso in newly formed New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP).
However, Shekarau surprised many when he left NNPP barely 3 months later to join the PDP. Recall that Shekarau is the first incumbent governor to win a second term in Kano State and has remained a political strength in Kano State.
The presidential bid of Kwakwanso has suffered a blow. The impact of this defection is not just in the crowd, but it raises an integrity question. If a man can’t stick to the agreement reached with political allies on the eve of an election, how will he stick to agreement reached with labour unions when he don’t need their votes.
We suppose that by going public in a national television, these are the questions that Senator Shekarau wants the electorates will seek to answer as they contemplate their choices for 2023 presidential election.
However, in the same vein, there is also the question of relevance, and astuteness on the part of Ibrahim Shekarau. Relevance in the same that Kwankwazo could not have let him go if he was truly of meaningful electoral value to his political calculation.
Further, the question can also be asked – how did Senator Shekarau allow himself to be manipulated in such a way by a fellow former governor, and now turns around to even admit it publicly and audaciously?
