Tinubu pushes for Kwankwaso, Ganduje reconciliation

President Bola Tinubu has kick-started moves to reconcile the national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, ahead of his push for a second term in office in 2027.

Multiple sources confirmed to Daily Trust on Monday that the president has communicated his intention to both leaders separately and has given them some time to inform their stakeholders of his intention, and return at a later date to finalise the reconciliation process.

President Tinubu met with Ganduje and some select APC stakeholders from Kano State last week Thursday, and met with Kwankwaso on Sunday, just as he plans to personally chair a reconciliation meeting where the two former governors of Kano State are expected to come with two persons each.

Sources close to Ganduje confirmed that the president had asked the APC leader to meet with APC stakeholders in Kano on Thursday, and commence the process of solidifying the unity of purpose amongst them.

It was reliably gathered that the president’s push for solidification of unity amongst the APC stakeholders in Kano in view of insinuations in the state’s chapter of the party that he (President Tinubu) did not “throw his weight” for a favourable ruling of the Supreme Court for the party’s candidate in the March 28, 2023 governorship election in the state, Dr. Yusuf Nasiru Gawuna.

“Contrary to what is trending that the president ordered the (national) chairman (Ganduje) to reconcile with Kwankwaso, the president never spoke specifically about Kwankwaso during the stakeholders’ meeting at the Presidential Villa, last week. During the meeting, the president praised Ganduje’s reconciliation skills in Ondo and Edo, and said he wants him to do similar things with Kano”, one of the sources at the meeting told Daily Trust in confidence.

The source added that it was during a private meeting between Tinubu and Ganduje that the president informed the APC leader of his intention to bring Kwankwaso into APC, and asked the latter to devise a strategy of realising this objective. As a first step towards achieving that goal, however, the president asked Ganduje to convene a meeting in Kano, in order to secure the buy-in of APC stakeholders in the state.

It was gathered further that while many of the APC stakeholders at the meeting in Abuja had their reservations about what the president was proposing, none could raise a dissenting voice.

“There was no room for that (dissenting voice). What happened was that the plan for the meeting with the president was to allow the chairman to do the opening remark and then yield the floor to Barau (Jibrin, the deputy Senate President) as well as (Alhassan Ado) Doguwa (member representing Doguwa/Tudunwada Federal Constituency of Kano State).

“But as the chairman was rounding off his speech, the president put on his microphone, signalling that he was ready to speak and he did not mince words in what he told them. First, he learnt that the members of the APC family in Kano were unhappy with the Supreme Court judgment that retained Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, and that many of the party faithful felt let down by him (the president) over this development,” the source said.

The president was then said to have appealed to the party’s leaders at the meeting to reach out to the Kano APC family in Kano and appease them, assuring that he (President Tinubu) played no role in the loss suffered by the party.

“The second thing the president said was that our chairman should use the reconciliation skills to effectively manage the Kano APC stakeholders, after which he should return to him for further consultation.

“Shockingly, the president never said anything about possible ‘compensation’ for Gawuna and Garo (the governorship candidate and his deputy) with some political appointments,” the source added.

It was later gathered that after last week’s meeting with the president, the APC stakeholders at the meeting and a few others in Abuja met and raised some concerns over the path the president appeared to them to be towing, that is, pushing for reconciliation with Kwankwaso.

Theeditorial.ng learnt that Ganduje will hold a meeting with Kano APC stakeholders on Thursday in Kano. Sources familiar with the development in Kano told our reporter that the APC national chairman’s meeting with the state’s stakeholders will be an expanded forum with the party’s stalwarts from across the 44 local government areas.

“Yes, the chairman is coming on Thursday. He will be meeting with the “Yan Biyar” from each of the 44 local government areas, and the main agenda is to appease them while also soliciting their continuous support for the president”, a close associate of Ganduje, who asked not to be named, said.

The “Yan Biyar” are the informal leaders of the party in each local government appointed by the APC national chairman. They are mostly five elderly party members that serve as the rallying point of the party in each local government.