The spokesperson of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Habibu Mohammed, has dismissed allegations that its leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is secretly working with President Bola Tinubu or planning to defect to the APC, insisting instead that the movement has found “home” in its growing relationship with Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Friday, Mohammed, rejected claims made by the Kano State Government’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, describing them as misleading and politically motivated.

Mohammed defended Kwankwaso against accusations that he was “confused” or acting inconsistently in his political decisions.

“For somebody who has served for 43 years under you, under your tutelage, and you’ve never found anything wrong, you have never found him to be confused in decisions he has taken, even when those decisions sound strange to others, I believe Nigerians will be able to know who truly is actually confused,” Mohammed said.

He argued that Kwankwaso had always been known for taking independent political decisions, citing his move from the PDP to the NNPP ahead of the 2023 elections.

“You cannot actually compare the moment when our principal decided to pick NNPP, a relatively unknown political party, leaving a well-structured PDP. As at that particular time, he was not confused,” he said.

“He believed that decision was sound, and he also followed my principal to a relatively unknown political party. Yet, that decision turned out to be the reason why he is the governor.”

Mohammed also denied allegations that Kwankwaso was secretly working for President Bola Tinubu, saying the former Kano governor only maintained a longstanding political relationship with the President.

“Everybody knows that they have a long-standing relationship. They have worked together at the National Assembly, as governors, and also as key people that actually brought the APC to life,” he said.

“If Kwankwaso wanted to work with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he doesn’t need anybody to push him to do that. This is a guy that is just going to be one phone call away and they sort themselves out.”

He, however, stressed that Kwankwaso had only visited the Presidential Villa once during Tinubu’s administration and denied that any discussions about defection took place.

“I want to be very clear here, there were never any discussions with either the President, nor the APC, nor anybody in the FEC who can talk on behalf of the FEC on issues of defection with our national leader, nor with any member of the Kwankwasiyya Movement,” Mohammed stated.

According to him, the only meeting between Tinubu and Kwankwaso involved an offer for the NNPP leader to serve in the administration, which he eventually declined.

“The President invited Kwankwaso. Nobody knows the content of the discussions. As at that particular time, it was only an offer by the President for Kwankwaso to serve in his administration,” he said.

“And at the end of the day, he decided he was not going to work with the administration.”

Mohammed further clarified that while the movement remains open to alliances, it would not align with the APC because of ideological differences.

“In Kano State, we have no antecedents with all those people that belong to APC,” he said.

“We don’t think in Kano State we can actually meet together and work with anybody in APC because we know what APC represents in Kano State. It simply represents thuggery, it simply represents a host of so many things that are directly harmful to our masses and the downtrodden, which our ideology seeks to protect.”

He also criticised the policies of the Tinubu administration.

“Even at the national level, we can see from the policies rolled out by the APC, we can see the grandstanding of even the Commander-in-Chief, where he does not have an inch of feeling as to what happens when he rolls out policies,” Mohammed said.

“These are the people that feel they own Nigeria. These are the people that feel that whatever they throw out, you must take it. And these are the people that we can never work with, no matter the opportunities presented.”

On relations with Peter Obi and the Obidient Movement, Mohammed said both camps had become more aligned since the 2023 election.

“We have found home in our relationship with Obi. The years in between have allowed us to actually integrate and understand ourselves,” he said.

He revealed that there had been efforts for Kwankwaso and Obi to work together before the 2023 election but explained that time and political realities prevented a full alliance.

“It is true that our principal and Peter Obi made efforts to work together,” he said.

“But if we are going to be very honest and fair to all of them, remember Kwankwaso left PDP before Peter Obi. He moved to NNPP, began to build that party and establish structures.”

Mohammed added that discussions between the two camps later intensified because members of both movements believed their leaders shared similar political ideals.

“We the members of Kwankwasiyya and the Obidient Movement have continued to push for such an alignment, looking at the present realities of the country and looking at the fact that our principals are actually on the same page,” he stated.

Responding to claims that Obi lacks political relevance in Kano State, Mohammed dismissed the suggestion outright.

“Peter Obi is known everywhere, whether you want to work with him or not. That is a different matter,” he said.

“Peter Obi now is in alignment with Kwankwaso and that makes him much better positioned in Kano than ever before.” (AriseNews TV, but headline rejigged)

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