Kwankwaso Rejects Sheriff’s Claims, Affirms Strong Kano Support Ahead of 2027
The vice‑presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has brushed off assertions made by former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff that his alliance with presidential hopeful Peter Obi would struggle to win votes in Kano and other northern states.
Kwankwaso suggested that Sheriff’s remarks were merely an attempt to curry favour with President Bola Tinubu, noting that all three men once belonged to the APC and maintain regular communication.
“My humble self, Ali Modu Sheriff and his friend Bola Tinubu were all in the APC. We know ourselves very well. Up to now, I communicate with them, especially Senator Ali Sheriff himself,” Kwankwaso said.
He added that Sheriff was not serious in his criticism and was simply trying to impress the President by portraying himself as a loyal ally.
Kwankwaso welcomed the tendency of opponents to underrate him, describing it as politically advantageous because it lulls rivals into complacency while his camp works behind the scenes.
“Even the worst enemies will tell you that Kwankwaso has Kano. I am not one of the politicians who go out there bragging; most of the time I feel happy when people decide to underrate me or what I can do because it sends people to sleep while we are working,” he remarked.
The former Kano governor expressed confidence that neither Kano nor the broader northern region would abandon the NDC alliance, emphasizing that Peter Obi remains a formidable force across the North.
He pointed out that in the previous election Obi secured over two million votes in northern Nigeria, a figure he described as substantial, and noted that many of those supporters remain active.
Kwankwaso forecast that the merger of the Obidient movement with his own Kwankwasiyya base would produce unexpected outcomes, particularly among young voters who are unmoved by the narratives Sheriff and others are attempting to propagate.
“Whether anybody has the capacity to take votes away from us in Kano, or indeed in northern Nigeria, is just a matter of patience. By the grace of God, the good people of Kano State, and indeed northern Nigeria, are completely different from what he was trying to paint here,” he concluded.
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