Former Kano State Governor and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Rabiu Kwankwaso, says northern political leaders carried out a deliberate assessment of possible allies before settling on Peter Obi as the most capable partner for the 2027 presidential race.
Kwankwaso also dismissed speculations of a hidden power struggle between his camp and Obi’s.
He made the remarks during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, May 11, 2026, where he gave one of his clearest explanations yet on how the North-South-East political alliance within the NDC was formed.
“I looked around together with our leadership in the North to say, okay, who do we think is capable? Who can come and work together with us honestly so that we can move this country? Along the line, we realised that Peter Obi is at the forefront of it. That’s why we all accepted to work together,” he said.
Kwankwaso, a two-term former governor of Kano State and the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, leads the Kwankwasiyya movement, a grassroots political structure with strong influence across Kano and parts of northern Nigeria.
He exited the NNPP following internal disputes before joining the NDC alongside Obi earlier this month.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, contested the 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform and enjoyed massive youth support across southern Nigeria and major urban centres.
Both men formally joined the NDC on Sunday, May 3, 2026, after defecting from the crisis-ridden African Democratic Congress.
At the party’s national convention held in Abuja on Saturday, May 9, 2026, Kwankwaso backed the NDC’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, describing the move as one rooted in fairness, healing and national unity.
Reacting to questions about possible rivalry within the alliance, Kwankwaso argued that conflicts between political leaders and their deputies were usually driven by greed rather than structural differences.
“The problem people are having, especially leaders, is that they are too greedy to the extent that they begin to have issues. There is so much to do. You don’t have to fight your deputy,” he said.
He said his experience as a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and later as governor of Kano State proved that political partnerships could survive pressure.
“I had an opportunity to work with my speaker and we worked very well. I was in Kano for eight years despite the difficulty of my then deputy governor. We were able to work for eight years amicably to the extent that I handed over to him,” he added.
Kwankwaso extended the argument to the national level, saying there was no reason for vice presidents or deputies to clash with presidents or governors.
“In the Senate and other places, in the NDDC, we worked amicably with people. There is so much to be done and that’s why you have even ministers, other executives, advisers and so on. I don’t see from my experiences of the past why deputies or vice would fight with the president or governor,” he said.
The former governor traced the alliance to historical political collaborations between the North and the South-East dating back to the First Republic.
“Right from the beginning, this sort of alliance has been in existence. Now we are going back to what Tafawa Balewa did during their time,” he said.
He referenced the working relationship between former Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and NCNC leaders, as well as the alliance between former President Shehu Shagari and his deputy, Alex Ekwueme, during the Second Republic.
“So also in the second republic, immediately after the war, our leaders, Shagari and others, worked very closely with the South-East, with Alex Ekwueme as his vice president. They are our friends. We want to work together with them,” he stated.
Kwankwaso argued that subsequent administrations gradually shifted power-sharing arrangements away from the South-East.
“There was a change during the third republic where for many obvious reasons an election was annulled and the government under the military decided to bring in Shonekan from the South-West.
“Even after that, the military and other leaders worked together and brought in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from the South-West again. Even Bola Tinubu probably is a beneficiary of all that,” he said.
He insisted that Obi’s selection was based on competence and national appeal, not regional sentiment.
“It wasn’t just because we are going to the South-East just because of the South-East. No. We realised that Peter Obi is at the forefront of it and that’s why we all accepted to work together,” he added.
The defection of both politicians to the NDC has reportedly triggered fresh political realignments, with lawmakers and political blocs linked to their former coalition gravitating toward the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
The alliance is expected to combine Kwankwaso’s northern grassroots political structure with Obi’s strong youth appeal and urban support base as the opposition prepares to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027.
