Former Kano State Governor, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso Saturday said President Muhammadu Buhari would never win in the state contrary to the claim of the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
Kwankwaso, currently representing Kano Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, also said his defection would not only affect Buhari’s chance in Kano State, but had already brought down the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He dared the president in a statement his Media Adviser, Mrs. Binta Spikin issued Saturday in reaction to Amaechi’s comment, noting that Buhari “will lose in Kano even though he uses federal might.”
During a session with journalists on Friday, Amaechi had said President Buhari “will win in Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi states in the 2019 presidential elections even if he (Buhari) is taken to the states on a sick bed.”
He had acknowledged that the Sokoto State Governor, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and his Kwara State counterpart, Mr. Abdulfatah Ahmed would leave the APC, noting that the former had presidential ambition.
He said: “On those that defected at the House of Representatives and Senate, where do they come from? They come from areas that the president is comfortable. Do you honestly believe that the president will lose election in Sokoto? We are not God. But it is one of his comfort zones.
“If you bring the president on a sick bed to Bauchi and Kano States, he will win and he has never lost election in Bauchi. But that is a bit arrogant on our side; we should not underestimate them. I am not God. It is only God who can say the APC will win or not,” Amaechi said.
Kwankwaso, however, replied in a statement that the president would not win in Kano State whether he chose to use federal might or not.
The statement said: “I think his defection will greatly affect the votes in 2019. His defection will not only affect the chances of the APC in Kano, but has already brought down the APC in the state. “If you look across Nigeria today, not Kano alone, there’s nowhere in Nigeria that you do not have the presence of Kwankwasiyya, Kwankwaso’s political movement Kwankwaso.
“Kano is his home base. He is well grounded in Kano. Even without the government, he had a 60 percent of the voters. So what do you think will happen now that he has joined forces with people like Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau?
“Even if the federal government puts whatever in place, there is no way President Buhari will win in Kano State. Definitely, Buhari will lose Kano. He stands a very good chance to win Buhari. We are covered.”
Kwankwaso was one of the 15 senators who defected from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last Tuesday.
In his reaction to Kwankwaso’s, Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje had said the mass defection would not affect the party’s chances politically.
He had also said Kwankwaso’s exit “will not be felt in the state. I want you to go and study the situation on ground in Kano, Kwankwaso’s defection does not change the state’s political mood. Nobody cares to be disturbed by their action.”
Kwankwaso has been in a fierce battle with Ganduje after the 2015 general election. Over the past two years, several attacks and reprisal attacks between the supporters of the two politicians have been reported.
