From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has compared the rumoured defection of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 2023 presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to a “fish out of water that needs help.”
Speaking to reporters during a courtesy visit by Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Yusuf Abdullahi Ata at his Abuja office on Tuesday, Ganduje described Kwankwaso as a stranded politician seeking political accommodation.
“You know when a fish is out of water, it struggles as if it is still surviving. That is exactly what he is doing, but when the water is dried, the fish will find its way into moisture and into safety. That is what is happening to him,” Ganduje said. “We are not saying that we will not welcome him, we will welcome him because we even heard that he has no party. When you see your son running helter-skelter without shelter, as our brother, it is only right that we accommodate him.”
Ganduje added, “Somebody who has been a political stakeholder in the country, we should not allow the person to be exposed to that extent.”
However, Minister Ata cautioned that Kwankwaso’s potential defection could spark a crisis in the Kano State APC chapter. He argued that Kwankwaso’s influence in Kano has significantly declined, with the Kwankwasiyya movement’s signature red caps now rarely seen. “He is no more attractive in Kano. The influence of Kwankwasia in Kano is waning, today you can hardly see anybody wearing red cap in the state unlike before,” Ata said.
Ata, who served in the Kano State House of Assembly in 1999 when Kwankwaso was governor, stated, “Personally, I won’t be happy [with his defection]. Unless it is a decision from our father [Ganduje] to accommodate him. He is only coming to APC, not that we invited him. Because he is going to die politically.” He warned that Kwankwaso’s move could disrupt the party’s structure in Kano, adding that President Bola Tinubu is aware of Kwankwaso’s diminished grassroots support.