Vice Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has warned that controlling over 30 governors will not guarantee victory for any political party in the 2027 general election.

Speaking at the NDC Town Hall Meeting in Rivers State on Thursday, the former Kano State Governor said many governors, especially in the North, have performed so poorly that it would be difficult for them to even come out and campaign for their parties.

The former Kano State Governor said previous elections showed that an incumbent government could be defeated despite controlling several states.

He urged those relying on the number of governors they control to avoid repeating what he described as a major political mistake.

He said, “The sitting president lost the election. I’m giving you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That is a very big mistake.”

Kwankwaso, who did not identify the particular election in the excerpt, predicted that several governors, particularly those in the North, would struggle to campaign for their parties because of their alleged poor performance in office.

“By the grace of God, all of them, especially the ones in the North, because I studied the trend. The trend is those governors and their party have performed woefully to the extent that it is very difficult for them even to come out and campaign,” he said.

The NDC vice-presidential candidate also criticised the management of public funds by state governors and the Federal Government, saying the country had received significantly higher revenues than in previous years.

Recalling his experience as governor in 1999, Kwankwaso said states and local governments received about N4bn each at the time.

He, however, alleged that despite the huge increase in revenue accruing to governments in recent years, the impact had not been reflected in the lives of Nigerians.

“Now in one year, we have seen it on social media that our government collected over N1.11tn, just less than one year. You go around, what have you done with that money? Close to nothing,” he said.

Kwankwaso said the alleged poor performance of governments had heightened public anger, adding that insecurity remained a major concern, particularly in Northern Nigeria.

“And people are very angry. And this anger is bad, and worse is the issue of insecurity, especially in northern Nigeria,” he stated. (The PUNCH)