A former National Vice Chairman, North-West of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has characterized Rabiu Kwankwaso’s presidential aspirations as a “mirage.” Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and the 2023 presidential candidate for the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), is the subject of Lukman’s assessment.
Lukman, appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Wednesday, suggested that the ruling party could accelerate Kwankwaso’s presidential aspirations by welcoming him back into the party fold and facilitating the process of rebuilding strained relationships nationwide.
He noted that the corruption allegations against APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje in Kano, carry political implications. Lukman argued that addressing these issues would require a political resolution. He asserted that Ganduje’s challenges in Kano are intertwined with his conflict with Kwankwaso.
He said the protracted conflict between Ganduje and Kwankwaso “was an avoidable crisis which emerged because the party didn’t handle it well” which made Kwankwaso dumped the ruling party.
“We must push Dr Abdullahi Ganduje to renegotiate relationships back in his state because it’s political. If you don’t approach it politically, you will never take it away. You can replace Dr Abdullahi Ganduje and if the capacity to get leaders to do the right thing in their base is not addressed, we will continue to get into this,” he said.
Ganduje and certain family members are currently under investigation by the state anti-corruption agency, which operates under the administration of Governor Abba Yusuf of the NNPP, regarding corruption allegations. The case is currently before the courts.
Some APC ward leaders have suspended Ganduje, but this action has led to conflicting court rulings. Despite this, the APC has disavowed those ward leaders and reaffirmed Ganduje as the party’s national chairman.
Lukman, a former Director General of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) of the ruling APC, said, “We must accept that things are not alright within the APC, forget about the Ganduje matter in Kano. The reality is that we have problems that require us to come back to rebuild our party.
“The ambition of Senator Kwankwaso is to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Where he is today, I can confidently say that it will be like a mirage for him to be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It will take years of building and negotiation across the country which may outlive his lifespan and if we are to fast-track it and open our party for him to come back in such a way that we renegotiate his relationship with Dr Ganduje and across the state, we also renegotiate relationships between leaders and bring in new forces, Nigerians are even likely to have more confidence in the party.”