The vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has made his first public remarks following media reports that he threatened to exit the party.
Taking to his official X account on Monday night, Kwankwaso downplayed the rumoured defection by highlighting ongoing party engagements in Abuja.
“This evening, I hosted a highly productive meeting with the NDC candidates from Kogi State at my residence in Abuja. We had robust deliberations on the way forward and concrete strategies for our collective victory,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Kwankwasiyya Movement has dismissed reports indicating that its leader intended to leave the NDC over disagreements regarding candidate selection.
Speaking, the movement’s spokesman, Habibu Sale Mohammed, characterized the reports as “mere rumours” and stated that neither the movement nor Kwankwaso had expressed any intention to leave.
“The Kwankwasiyya Movement, and neither its leader, is complaining,” Mohammed stated.
He explained that the party’s primaries were successfully conducted on May 29 in compliance with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, with consensus candidates adopted and submitted smoothly.
He added that the NDC national leadership remains the appropriate body to address external speculation.
The rumors surfaced following reports of internal crisis within the Kano State chapter of the NDC.
The state executive recently altered its local candidate list to enforce a strict 60/40 power-sharing formula between the newly integrated Kwankwasiyya bloc and the party’s pioneer structure.
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A document signed by the Kano State NDC Chairman, Hussaini Mairiga, confirmed that adjustments were made to rectify an alleged breach of the original agreement, which allotted 60 percent of elective tickets and party positions to Kwankwaso’s camp and 40 percent to the founding structure.
The revised list, which has been forwarded to the NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson and the North-West Zonal chairman, replaced several Kwankwasiyya-aligned aspirants with alternative candidates across state and federal constituencies.
The development comes just weeks after Rabiu Kwankwaso and presidential flagbearer, Peter Obi moved from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to the NDC to form the party’s joint ticket for the 2027 general elections.
