The former National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has written off the presidential ambitions of Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso under the platform of the newly formed Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), declaring that the joint ticket will fail to make any impact in Kano State during the 2027 general elections.
​Speaking to party loyalists and newsmen on Wednesday in Kano, Ganduje described the political alliance between Obi, the former Labour Party presidential candidate, and Kwankwaso, the former governor of Kano State, as a “marriage of convenience” built on incompatible political structures.
Ganduje maintained that Kano State remains a stronghold of the APC, asserting that the political popularity of the opposition forces has waned significantly since the last electoral cycle.
The former APC chieftain argued that launching under a newly adopted platform like the NDC lacks the grassroots network required to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reelection bid in the North.
Pointing to internal frictions and contrasting ideological bases between Obi’s Labour movement and Kwankwaso’s Kwankwasiyya group, Ganduje declared that voters in Kano would not be misled by emergency political mergers.
​”The electoral dynamics of Kano State favor structural depth and proven performance. An alliance between Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso on the banner of the Nigeria Democratic Congress cannot survive the political terrain of Kano come 2027,” Ganduje stated.
​The comments follow recent moves by opposition heavyweights to consolidate power ahead of the next presidential race. After months of high-level negotiations, both Obi and Kwankwaso aligned with the NDC to present a unified coalition capable of unseating the ruling party.
​However, Ganduje expressed total confidence in the APC’s ongoing consolidation efforts across Kano and the broader North-West region, reassuring party supporters that the ruling party remains unshakable.
