Kwankwaso Says NDC Ticket Will Stay in 2027 Race

Rabiu Kwankwaso said Sunday that the Nigeria Democratic Congress will remain in the 2027 presidential race and will not withdraw its ticket in favour of the African Democratic Congress or another party. The NDC ticket pairs presidential candidate Peter Obi with Kwankwaso, its vice-presidential candidate. Kwankwaso’s statement rejected claims that the ticket was working for President Bola Tinubu or might step aside for the ADC. He said the party had no reason to leave the race and warned that NDC supporters could be told, shortly before the election, that it planned to withdraw. That warning was Kwankwaso’s allegation; the supplied reports provide no independent evidence of such a plan. The exchange followed a call by Kwankwaso for Atiku Abubakar, the ADC’s presidential candidate, to step aside for Obi. On Friday, ADC campaign spokesperson Kola Ologbondiyan accused Kwankwaso of helping Tinubu’s political interests and weakening opposition unity. Ologbondiyan argued that Kwankwaso was directing criticism at an opposition candidate instead of the president and the governing All Progressives Congress. Kwankwaso denied working for Tinubu or the APC. He described the ADC campaign’s...