Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, may depart the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in favor of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) ahead of the 2023 presidential election, pending any last-minute adjustments.
On Tuesday, Kwankwaso confirmed this during a meeting with the NNPP’s leadership in Abuja.
The meeting’s objective was for Kwankwaso to confirm his membership in the party, which he would use to advance his presidential campaign in 2023.
During the NNPP’s Special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, Ambassador Agbo Gilbert Major, the party’s leaving National Secretary, detailed the former governor’s ambitions.
Kwankwaso’s defection would be made public in the coming days, according to Major.
According to Major, “We have read Nigerians speculating, the only thing I can tell you is that we are in deep talks with Kwankwaso, in fact we have almost concluded, in the next few days, we will be reverting to Nigerians to tell them what understanding we have had with him (Kwankwaso), but I can assure you that he is on his way into NNPP.”
When Kwankwaso defected from the PDP, he was told that he would not be given an automatic presidential ticket.
According to Major, the former governor has told NNPP members that his decision is not intended to destabilize the party’s structure.
“The presidential ticket is not automatic. He (Kwankwaso) has told us that his moves towards coming into the party should not be seen as an attempt to take the ticket automatically,” he said.
