The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential candidate, of advancing President Bola Tinubu’s political interests following his call on former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to step down for Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The council described Kwankwaso’s position as reckless and self-serving, alleging that it was aimed at weakening the opposition and benefiting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement issued on Friday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, said Kwankwaso’s comments during an interview on Channels Television reflected misplaced priorities at a time Nigerians were seeking a change of government.
Atiku is the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Ologbondiyan faulted Kwankwaso for focusing on opposition figures rather than challenging the Tinubu administration, which he said Nigerians were determined to vote out because of the economic hardship and insecurity facing the country.
He expressed confidence that Atiku would win Kano State, Kwankwaso’s home state, with or without the former governor’s support.
According to him, the prevailing hardship, hunger, poverty and insecurity would ultimately influence voters’ decisions in the election.
The ADC campaign spokesman also questioned Kwankwaso’s intervention, given his political alignment with Peter Obi and the NDC, arguing that an opposition leader seeking to unseat an incumbent government should prioritise strengthening the opposition rather than undermining another opposition candidate.
“Rather than campaigning against President Tinubu, whose administration Nigerians are eagerly working to vote out, Kwankwaso is fixated on Atiku Abubakar, the ADC candidate, whom millions of Nigerians believe can restore economic stability and make life affordable again,” Ologbondiyan said.
He further suggested that Kwankwaso was more concerned about his political ambitions beyond 2027 than addressing the country’s immediate challenges.
“Having reportedly described the office of the Vice President as a ‘spare tyre’, he appears more concerned about positioning himself for the 2031 presidential election rather than addressing the urgent challenges confronting Nigerians today,” he added.
Ologbondiyan alleged that Kwankwaso’s actions raised questions about his preferred outcome in the 2027 election, claiming that his intervention appeared to serve the interests of the ruling APC rather than those of the opposition.
He also disputed the suggestion that Kwankwaso’s political influence was indispensable to any presidential candidate seeking victory in Kano State.
Citing the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, the ADC spokesman argued that former President Muhammadu Buhari had secured victories in Kano without Kwankwaso’s support, adding that Atiku could achieve a similar result in 2027.
“What Kwankwaso is doing amounts to advancing President Tinubu’s interests. It is a familiar APC strategy to use willing collaborators within the opposition to create confusion, sow division and weaken the collective efforts to bring about political change,” he said.
Ologbondiyan maintained that Nigerians would not be distracted by what he described as political manoeuvres intended to weaken the opposition and sustain the current administration.
He further accused Kwankwaso of prioritising personal ambition over the collective interests of opposition parties, alleging that his call for Obi to emerge as the preferred candidate was driven less by a desire to strengthen Obi’s electoral prospects than by preparations for future political negotiations ahead of the 2031 election.
