President Bola Tinubu’s reported courting of NNPC political leader Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso appears designed to secure a significant portion of Kano State’s substantial voter base, according to political analysts examining the strategic implications of the potential alliance.
Former lawmaker and APC chieftain Cletus Obun defended the president’s approach, highlighting the electoral significance of Nigeria’s two most populous states.
Speaking to Arise TV from 14:48, Obun emphasized the mathematical importance of Kano and Lagos in national elections. “The Nigerian political calculation and permutation is about Kano and Lagos, which comes with 5 and 6 million votes,” he explained.
However, Obun noted that neither state has fully delivered on its electoral potential in recent elections. “If you look at the last elections, none of them have brought 4 million votes out of the five and six million that they have on their voters register; none of them have produced 4 million at a stretch. So, first of all, it is on speculation and expectation that they will produce the number of votes,” he stated.
Addressing concerns about potential conflicts between Kwankwaso and current party members like Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, Obun argued that political differences don’t create lasting enemies. “The big wigs that are coming in or going out are not perennial or habitual or permanent enemies. On the contrary, especially in Kano, they have been longtime allies; their differences in political party and permission and convenience at any particular moment does not make them habitual or permanent enemies,” Obun explained.
The former lawmaker used an analogy to illustrate the fluid nature of political relationships. “Therefore, what we are looking at as a political party, we are not into a chemistry class where atoms have to rotate and then galvanize and come as organic molecules. That is not where we are. We are dealing with human entities that at any time are subject to change on account of either political climate or personal intuition,” he said.
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