A former House of Representatives member, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has claimed that the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, now controls the northern votes of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Jibrin stated this during an interview with Channels Television on Friday.
Recently, there have been speculations that Kwankwaso might ask his supporters to vote for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the 2023 election.
Reacting to the speculation, Jibrin, who is the spokesperson of the Kwankwaso presidential campaign, said the former governor is not considering merging with the APC.
“We have debunked these lies over and over again. It is an attempt to give a wrong impression to the public for one or two parties to be able to raise their standing in public.
“Kwankwaso is a practical politician, we are serious-minded people. We are not in this race for anyone and I have said it over and over again.
“People should disregard all these rumours that ‘Kwankwaso is working for Asiwaju, We are going to merge with APC’.
“How will he do that? Somebody who is controlling the heart of the north. Somebody who is the beneficiary of the 12 million Buhari’s votes.
“Kwankwaso is the most popular person, most loved. He is the person who is going to control those votes. Now look at the dynamics of the election today, there is no sitting governor in the northern part of the country that is contesting for the presidency so every governor has its peculiar challenges in his State.
“What the governors are interested in is to deliver their States. They know it is dangerous for you within your States to say you are going against Kwankwaso because Kwankwaso has his own direct connection with the masses.
“In the entire northern part of the country, nobody is going to get the quantum of votes Kwankwaso is going to pull out,” Jibrin said.