The ruling All Progressives Congress may have given an indication why the presidential candidate of New Nigerian People’s Party, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, was not considered for a ministerial position by President Bola Tinubu despite widespread expectattions that he would make the list.
The Director of Publicity of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bala Ibrahim, told the Punch on Sunday that he believed the attacks on Abdullahi Ganduje,’s legacies in Kano State by Governor Abba Yusuf of the NNPP and Kwankwaso’s political godson was why Tinubu decided against giving Kwankwaso a ministerial position.
Mr. Ganduje had later emerged as APC national chairman.
While former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party,, was rewarded with a ministerial nomination for the controversial role in played in Tinubu purported election victory, Kwankwaso was left out, notwithstanding the open fraternity between him and Tinubu after the presidential election.
Ibrahim said, “Kwankwaso is a force to reckon with in the politics of Kano. But the way and manner his Kwankwasiyya movement goes about conducting itself has made the support for Kwankwaso to wane gradually. This is because of the brigandage the movement is bringing into the politics of Kano, and by extension, Nigeria.
“The President must have felt the pulse of the public and weighed the relevance and implementation of his policies, particularly his effort to win the hearts of Kano people. There is no way you will dismiss the political maturity, sagacity and experience of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje when it comes to the way he plays politics in Kano.
“If you weigh the two on a good calibrated scale, the political weight of Ganduje is by far higher than that of Kwankwaso. I believe the President must have listened to people who will give him honest and sincere advice, people who read the political temperature of the state very well, not those who are misguided by the hullabaloo of commotion caused by the brigandage of the Kwankwasiyya movement. It is that direction I think the President took the decision not to treat Ganduje lightly.”
However, the Kwankwaso camp dismissed the APC position, saying it was aimed at tainting their principal.
The NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Major Agbo, told the Punch that the APC did not deserve a response.
Agbo said, “Some of these issues are things the party is not supposed to be reacting to now. He (Kwankwaso) has spoken directly on the issue you talked about. He is the one who opted out. What else do you want?
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