Kwankwaso Opens Door for Return to APC — But Only on ‘Strong Promises’

NNPP Leader Warns Against Being “Used and Dumped” as Political Realignments Loom

In a move that could reshape Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of 2027, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the 2023 elections, has declared that his party may consider rejoining the All Progressives Congress (APC) — but only under what he called “strong promises.”

Kwankwaso made this revelation at his Miller Road residence in Kano while receiving Buhari Bakwana, a former political adviser to ex-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who led a delegation of APC members from the 44 local government areas of Kano State.

Reminding the gathering of his pivotal role in the birth of the APC in 2013, Kwankwaso said he and his allies endured political persecution, harassment, and intimidation at the time, only to be abandoned by those who later benefitted from the party’s rise to power.

> “Nobody in this country can tell me the burden we bore in creating APC. We were the ones who led its formation. We were the first set of seven governors to declare support for it. ICPC, EFCC, and the police were all used against me just to stop our plans,” he said.
The former Kano governor, visibly firm in his tone, lamented that despite his sacrifices, the APC under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year administration offered him and his allies “nothing, not even appreciation.”

Kwankwaso recalled how he peacefully left the PDP after being denied a simple request for a zonal party chairman position, stressing that the NNPP is now a formidable force with integrity.

He warned that any talks of merger or return to the ruling party must guarantee clear, binding benefits for the NNPP.

> “We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us,” he declared.

Political analysts say Kwankwaso’s statement signals the possibility of major realignments as opposition parties and ruling elites jostle for positioning ahead of the next general elections.