The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has maintained that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar can secure victory in Kano State in the 2027 presidential election without the backing of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The council also accused the former Kano State governor of promoting divisions within the opposition in a manner it claims could benefit President Bola Tinubu’s bid for re-election.
The ADC-PCC’s position followed Kwankwaso’s call for Atiku to withdraw from the presidential race in favour of Peter Obi.
The council described the intervention as politically motivated, arguing that opposition leaders should focus on challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) rather than undermining one another.
In a statement issued by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the campaign council questioned Kwankwaso’s decision to direct his criticism at Atiku instead of the Tinubu administration, which it accused of presiding over worsening economic hardship, hunger, poverty and insecurity.
“Rather than campaigning against President Tinubu, whose administration Nigerians are eagerly working to vote out, Kwankwaso is fixated on Atiku Abubakar, the ADC candidate, whom millions of Nigerians believe can restore economic stability and make life affordable again,” Ologbondiyan said.
Ologbondiyan alleged that Kwankwaso’s actions were consistent with the interests of the APC, claiming that divisions among opposition parties could weaken their collective chances of defeating the governing party in 2027.
He argued that Kwankwaso’s political standing in Kano should not be interpreted as evidence that Atiku would be unable to win the state without his endorsement.
To support its position, the council referred to former President Muhammadu Buhari’s victories in Kano during the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections.
It argued that those electoral outcomes demonstrated that success in the state was not exclusively dependent on Kwankwaso’s political backing.
The ADC-PCC also questioned whether Kwankwaso could convert his influence in Kano into widespread support across Nigeria, contrasting his regional political base with Atiku’s longstanding relationships and networks across the country.
According to the council, Atiku has maintained political connections across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones over several decades, giving him a broader national profile that could strengthen his presidential ambitions.
“Atiku Abubakar is a cosmopolitan, detribalised and nationally recognised political figure who has built relationships across the North, South, East and West over more than three decades.
“Kwankwaso, on the other hand, has concentrated much of his political strength within Kano State. His ability to translate that regional influence into broad national electoral success remains a major question,” Ologbondiyan said.
Ologbondiyan further challenged assessments of Kwankwaso’s electoral strength by citing his fourth-place finish in the 2023 presidential election.
He argued that the result raised questions about the former Kano governor’s ability to secure a nationwide electoral victory.
The council also alleged that Kwankwaso’s position on Obi’s candidacy could be linked to personal political calculations ahead of the 2031 presidential election.
However, it did not provide independent evidence to substantiate the allegation.
The ADC-PCC called on Kwankwaso and other opposition figures to put aside individual ambitions and work towards a common strategy for the 2027 elections.
It warned that continued disagreements and competing political interests could weaken the opposition’s efforts to unseat Tinubu and the APC.
