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The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said his decision to run alongside a Southern presidential candidate demonstrates that the North does not always need to produce Nigeria’s leader, as the region believes in fairness, justice and mutual respect between the two regions.
Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, made the remarks during an interview on News Central’s 60 Minutes with Mr Kay.
When asked about the school of thought that says that the North should always rule Nigeria, Kwankwaso pointed to his current political alignment as evidence that such thinking is not universal.
“I don’t have to put it in words. By what I am doing now, being vice to somebody from the South, I don’t think that argument can stand on our side,” Kwankwaso said.
“So we believe, North, I can tell you, believe in fairness; we believe in justice; and we believe in mutual respect between the South and the North. And that has always been our position.”
The former governor’s comments come as the NDC prepares for the 2027 presidential election, with Kwankwaso serving as running mate to Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate.
Kwankwaso had previously rejected an offer to serve as Obi’s running mate ahead of the 2023 election, explaining at the time that the “mood” in the North favoured power remaining in the region after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure.
“At the moment, the mood in the North today is that the presidency should be in the North. That is why I couldn’t accept to be his running mate,” Kwankwaso had said in 2022 during an exclusive interview with NEWS CENTRAL TV.
The former Kano governor now serves as deputy presidential candidate to Obi, the NDC’s presidential flagbearer, on a ticket that pairs a Southerner with a Northern running mate.
Asked what kind of vice president Nigerians should expect, Kwankwaso said he and Obi would work “as a family” and prioritise the welfare of all Nigerians.
“I believe we, together with His Excellency Peter Obi, work as a family. We will respect ourselves. We will work for the betterment of the young men and women and, of course, the entire people of this country and even those who are beyond this country, the people in diaspora,” Kwankwaso said.
“We work together harmoniously with our neighbours and, of course, the international community, especially those that are our friends. So we will work as friends, as family, for the betterment of our people.”
Obi and Kwankwaso finished third and fourth respectively in the 2023 presidential election before forming an alliance under the NDC for the 2027 elections.
