The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Monday, took a swipe at his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar when he said any party that can’t control Lagos, Kano and Rivers states should forget about the 2023 presidential election.
Kwankwaso made this known when he commissioned the Mgbutanwo Internal Roads in the Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State at the invitation of Governor Nyesom Wike.
The former Kano governor also hit some PDP leaders whom he described as rigid and selfish.
He said, “Many people have made so many mistakes, many people don’t understand. Some leaders are very rigid, rigid in the sense that whether they are failing or winning, they will stick to one idea, they will stick to one candidate not minding the consequences, not minding the feelings of the people involved
“We have seen people in my former party that all they want is to get the presidential ticket. They are ready to do anything to have a ticket.
“Any party that cannot control two of the three states – Kano, Lagos, and Rivers are out. He (Wike) has been saying it and people have not taken note of it. Anyway, by now, with Kwankwaso out of that party, and Wike struggling to be there or not to be there, somehow things are moving, certainly, Lagos is not their own, and one begins to wonder how they will win the election of 2023.”
Kano had over 1.8 million cumulative votes – the highest by any state in the 2019 presidential election – while Lagos had over 1 million total votes and Rivers about 600,000 total votes – all mainly shared between the APC’ Muhammadu Buhari and PDP’s Atiku Abubakar. Other states with heavy numerical voter strength based on past elections include Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Plateau, and Bauchi, amongst others.
