The recent open endorsement of the Niger State Governor, Umaru Mohammed Bago for the 2027 governorship race, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 governorship, Hon. Liman Kantigi, has attracted sharp reactions from members of the main opposition party, with a group calling for his immediate suspension from the party, describing his statement as unfortunate and embarrassing to the party.
The forum of PDP State Assembly Aspirants (zone A) in the 2023 general election in a petition signed by its Chairman, Hon. Abdullahi Ba’aka Mustapha and made available to newsmen Minna, the Niger State capital, on Wednesday – yesterday, January 16 – said the governorship candidate loyalty to the ideals, values, and objectives of the party and its supporters had been put to question following his open declaration of support and endorsement of the Governor for the 2027 governorship race in Niger.
The group, in the two-page petition titled “Petition Regarding PDP Gubernatorial Candidate in 2023 General Election, Hon. Isah Liman Kantigi’s Allegiance to the Opposition Party in Power, APC” and copied to the state PDP, the state zonal and the local government PDP called for his immediate suspension from the party.
The group expressed worry that while the party is preparing to unseat the ruling APC in the State come 2027, due to what they described as bad governance in the state, the former governorship candidate is busy expressing open support for the Governor and his party, stressing.
“This conduct raises serious questions about Hon. Isah Liman Kantigi’s loyalty to the ideals, values and objectives of our party and the people of Niger State whom he pretended to represent in the last election. Such actions undermine the trust of party members, voters, and the democratic process as a whole,” the group said.
According to the group, it is expected that as an opposition leader, Kantigi maintain a clear and transparent alignment with the principles of the party he represents, adding that “by supporting the opposition party clearly in different viral interviews with media houses, Kantigi risks alienating the party’s supporters, creating confusion among the electorate, and weakening the party’s chances of success in the 2027 elections.”
The group pointed out that Kantigi’s behavior not only amounts to anti-party, it is also deeply troubling and undermines the principles of loyalty, trust, and accountability that the electorate expects from political leaders.
By aligning with the opposition party in power, Hon. Isah Kantigi has betrayed the trust of his supporters, who rallied behind him in 2023, the group emphasized.
“We respectfully request that Hon. Isah Liman Kantigi should be suspended from the party and his action be investigated. This matter requires urgent attention to uphold the integrity of the party in order to restore the confidence of the party supporters,” the group added.
All attempts to get the state party Chairman, Tanko Beji to comment on this development could not yield any result as his mobile phone was permanently put on voice message.
He equally failed to respond to a voice message left behind for him as at the time of filing this report.
The PDP gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 general election in Niger had in an interview with a private radio station in Minna openly endorsed Governor Bago for 2027 gubernatorial race, and asked all political parties in the State to cue behind the Governor for what he described as the Governor’s “tremendous achievements”.
According to Kantigi, Bago has performed very well and therefore deserves the total support of the people in order for him to consolidate his achievements so far in the state.
Kantigi further claimed he had received numerous text messages urging him to contest the governorship position in 2027 but that he had declined, saying that rather, he would vigorously campaign against producing any gubernatorial candidate from Zone A where the Governor comes from.
“I want to tell the entire people of Niger state that I officially endorse Umaru Bago as our candidate for the 2027 gubernatorial election.
“Bago has started a lot of projects which have not been completed. It is my opinion that we should allow him to continue for a second term to complete what he has started,” he had said in the interview.
