The Kwankwasiyya Movement has announced that its leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has left the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

He is scheduled to be formally received by the NDC on Monday, though the date remains tentative.

The movement’s spokesman, Dr. Habibu Sale Mohammed, disclosed the decision in an exclusive interview with The Nation on Saturday, outlining the reasons behind Kwankwaso’s latest political move.

Mohammed said Kwankwaso took the decision after a stakeholders’ meeting in Kano on Friday, attended by members of the NDC and the Peoples Redemption Party. The meeting resolved that the NDC should serve as the new platform.

“At the meeting, we discussed the litigation affecting the ADC. With only eight days left for the submission of parties’ membership registers to INEC, stakeholders concluded there was no hope that the ADC would survive the onslaught against it. We had to jump ship,” Mohammed said.

According to him, the arrangement will see the NDC field Peter Obi as its presidential candidate for 2027, with Kwankwaso as running mate.

The NDC is also expected to hold its national convention in Abuja this week. Afterward, the Obidients and Kwankwasiyya structures will return to states and local government areas to mobilise ahead of the polls.

Mohammed said the defection date was shifted to Monday because Kwankwaso is expected to join the NDC alongside Peter Obi and other chieftains of the ADC faction.

He confirmed that key Kwankwasiyya figures have already exited the ADC. “All Kwankwasiyya followers, including Yusuf Gawuna and Aminu Gwarzo who resigned as Kano State Deputy Governor, have left the ADC. They are to follow the leader (Kwankwaso) to any political party he goes to,” he said.

Discussions are ongoing to woo two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed to the NDC, Mohammed added.

“The decision to join the NDC is to avoid the legal trap that could prevent Obi and Kwankwaso from contesting the 2027 presidential poll. This ensures Nigerians have an array of candidates to choose from, rather than a single compulsory candidate,” he said.

In 2023, Kwankwaso rejected an alliance where he would deputise Obi, and Obi also declined to run as Kwankwaso’s running mate.

“This time, Kwankwaso is open to all negotiations that will lead to a change in government, with the hope that there will be understanding and support for his sacrifice,” Mohammed said. (The Nation)

•Obi, Kwankwaso