Several top aides of former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso have decamped from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to their former party, the All Progressives Party (APC) in Kano State; the biggest of such decampment ever witnessed in the state.
The decampment is seen by many people in the state, as part of the political realignment of forces, towards the 2023 general election, in which politicians in the state are re-positioning themselves for the coming contest.
Speaking while receiving the decampees, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had described Kwankwaso as a “political ingrate and propagandist” whose quest is to fulfil his 2023 presidential ambition by all means.
Ganduje, who spoke at Government House when he was welcoming the state chairman of the PDP, Rabi’u Suleiman Bichi who decamped to APC with thousands of his followers, said the pre-occupation of Kwnakwaso is to use the APC platform to fulfil his presidential ambition. “This is why he is making frantic efforts to come back to our great party,” he said.
According to him, “I am the encyclopaedia of Kwankwaso. Nobody knows Kwankwaso better than me. I taught him politics even before 1999. As many of you are aware, I won the PDP primaries in 1999. Something happened and I was pacified to become his running mate.
“I invested my time and resources to mobilise for him in 1999. I stood by him all through even when we lost election in 2003. But could you believe that when I was campaigning for my election in 2015, Kwankwaso never attended any of my rallies. He never supported me with a dime. There was no support of any nature from him.”
He further stated that, “My political relationship with Kwankwaso dated back to the military era. Right from time, I was always loyal to him. But I must confess that in all my life, I have never come across a self-centered politician like Kwnakwaso.
“He has the antecedent of imposing himself above the interest of other people. It is him and him alone.”
According to him, “It was I and Rabi’u Suleiman Bichi that formed the Kwankwassiyya which has eventually collapsed today with this re-union with Rabi’u Bichi. Today, we have removed the heart beat of Kwankwassiyya.
“This is a happy day and a happy moment for me, because once again, I am in the midst of my political associates who we have been together for a very long time. I am used to them, and they are used to me.”
Ganduje, however, called on the opposition to join hands with him to further develop the state, adding that his ambition is to ensure that democratic dividends are delivered to all the nooks and crannies of the state.
Speaking during the occasion, the former chairman of PDP, Suleiman Bichi, described Ganduje as a patient, forthright and accommodating politician whose major concern is the development of Kano State and the welfare of the people.
Bichi, who gave reasons why he joined APC, said it was based on the call by President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Ganduje for all-inclusive government.
“We need a polity where progress and development of the state is above personal and primordial interest. So, we have to cut that trend of unnecessary opposition so as to put the state on the right track of development obtainable in Lagos State.
“Your Excellency, all of us you see here joining the APC have decided, after due consultations, to join in the development of the state. Almost everyone that was in the Kwankwassiyya camp is with us here, and we are ready to give you our full support to move the state forward.
“Among us here are former commissioners, former advisers, and many others who have in one way or the other contributed to the development of the state. We have at one point or the other worked with you. If we continue along the part of progressive governance, Kano will surely be ahead of other states in the country.”
The peak of the event witnessed decampees replacing their red caps with green colours, signifying that they have left not just the PDP, but also the Kwankwassiyya Political Movement.
Adeola Ajakaiye, in Kano
