Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, has said the door remains open for reconciliation with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
Ganduje, a two-term former governor of Kano State, made the remark during an interview with the BBC, saying his religious beliefs as a Muslim do not permit permanent estrangement, even in politics.
“As a Muslim, is there a person you would say you don’t want to be reconciled with? It’s politics. So we hope that in the future we can reconcile with him completely because we have been in politics together and we are brothers,” he said.
His comments came days after Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, defected from the NNPP to the APC, a development that altered the political dynamics in the state.
Ganduje described Kwankwaso as a long-time political associate, noting that they have shared the same political space for many years.
“There is no doubt about that. We are happy with this and we are excited. He (the governor) is also happy that he has come,” he stated.
He stressed that political leadership positions are temporary and explained that the APC’s leadership structure would be determined through internal elections from the ward level to the national level by the end of February.
“When the time comes, we will see how every party has their people in it (represented in the composition),” he said.
Acknowledging past disagreements, Ganduje said the recent defection and realignment marked a new beginning.
“Before we had our differences but now we are together. We have buried our differences. The task before us now is how to bring about the development of Kano State, achieving success in this party,” he said.
He described governance in Kano as a collective responsibility, adding, “If he succeeds, we succeed. If we succeed, he succeeds. If we fail, he fails. So whoever agrees with this. You see, we must help the government succeed because if it succeeds, we succeed.”
Reacting to claims of a purported 60 per cent–40 per cent power-sharing arrangement allegedly favouring the governor, Ganduje dismissed the reports.
“It is the national party that comes out with this kind of arrangement but until now we have anything of such. Received any written evidence of such arrangement?” he asked, adding that no formal decision had been communicated.
“Well, we did not recognise anything of such. We only knew that the government was done for the sake of the people so that progress could be achieved,” he said.
He further suggested that any advantages Yusuf may have previously enjoyed in the NNPP could have been lost during the political realignment, but stressed that this was not the doing of the APC.
“All we know is a government has been brought and a government that will work for the poor,” Ganduje stated.
