Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has said his party is open to rejoining the All Progressives Congress (APC), but only if certain “strong promises” are made.
Speaking at his residence in Kano while receiving Buhari Bakwana (former political adviser to ex-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje) and APC members from all 44 local government areas of Kano State, Kwankwaso reminded the gathering of his role in founding the APC in 2013, and the “political persecution” he faced then.
“Nobody in the country will tell me the burden we took in creating APC. We were the ones who led the creation of the party, and we were the first set of seven governors to declare support for it. ICPC, EFCC, and the police were all used against me then, just to stop our plans,” he said.
He insisted that any talk of a merger or return to APC must include clear, tangible benefits for his party, noting:
“If you are asking us to join APC, you must tell us what NNPP will gain. We have gubernatorial candidates in all the states and full structures nationwide. What will you offer them if we join?”
Kwankwaso also expressed frustration over past political alliances, saying:
“Eight years of APC under the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari gave us nothing, not even appreciation. In PDP, we asked for just a zonal party chairman, but they refused. We left peacefully and today we are strong and have integrity,” he said.
He concluded by making one thing clear:
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us,” he maintained.
