APC members want Kwankwaso on Tinubu’s 2027 ticket, says NNPP spokesperson

Ladipo Johnson, spokesperson of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), says the proposal of Rabiu Kwankwaso as President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 running mate is not out of place.

The NNPP chieftain spoke on Monday during his appearance on The Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television.

Johnson said Kwankwaso, who was the NNPP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, remains open to future alliances that align with his ideals.

“It’s not insulting to offer him the vice-presidential slot; whether he accepts or not is a different matter,” he said.

“I’ve been with Senator Kwankwaso since 2013 or 2014, and it has always been about the beliefs of the moment and whether those you engage with will support or enable those beliefs to materialize.

“Yes, there are rumours at the moment, but it is a possibility because after the 2023 elections, we said we were open to discussions with anyone who wants to move the country forward.”

The NNPP spokesperson added that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have approached him regarding the possibility of a political partnership between Kwankwaso and the president.

“People from the APC have called me to say, ‘Oh, if he is offered, please encourage him to accept’. But when it comes to the party, it is a team game.”

His comments come in the wake of the controversy that marred the recent APC stakeholders’ summit in Gombe, where some speakers endorsed Tinubu for a second term without mentioning Kashim Shettima, the vice-president.

The omission triggered outrage among delegates, some of whom disrupted the event with catcalls and threats of violence.

Following the resignation of Abdullahi Ganduje as the national chairman of the APC on Friday, reports linked his exit from the national working committee (NWC) to a plan by Kwankwaso to join the ruling party.

On June 19, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said Tinubu would choose his 2027 running mate after the next convention of the ruling party.