2027: Kwankwaso counters Ali Modu Sheriff over northern votes for Obi

Vice presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has dismissed claims by former Governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff, that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, cannot command significant support in Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Kwankwaso said Obi would surpass his 2023 electoral performance in the North, arguing that prevailing economic hardship and dissatisfaction with the current administration had altered the political landscape in the region.

Kwankwaso was reacting to comments made by Sheriff during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, in which the former governor reportedly questioned Obi’s electoral prospects in the North.

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Expressing disappointment over the interview, Kwankwaso said he had expected Sheriff to demonstrate greater political judgment after what he described as a prolonged absence from public discourse.

According to him, Sheriff was wrong to suggest that Obi lacks support in Northern Nigeria, noting that the former Labour Party presidential candidate secured about 2.8 million votes across the region in the 2023 presidential election.

He argued that the proposed Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) ticket would be even stronger in 2027, citing what he described as widespread public dissatisfaction with the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the electoral strength of the ticket in the North.

Kwankwaso added that the inclusion of a prominent Northern politician on the ticket, whom he said had previously secured about 1.45 million votes in the region, would further strengthen its chances.

The former Kano State governor also rejected Sheriff’s assertion that voters in Kano State would not support Obi, insisting that the people of the state had consistently demonstrated political maturity.

He said Kano residents were “neither bigoted nor xenophobic” and had repeatedly shown confidence in the Kwankwasiyya movement, adding that they would support any credible presidential ticket presented under its platform.

Kwankwaso further urged Sheriff to focus on addressing the security and humanitarian challenges confronting his home state instead of making what he described as divisive political comments on national television.

He maintained that the Obi-Kwankwaso, or “OK”, ticket offers Nigerians the best opportunity to reposition the country through what he described as competent, united and progressive leadership.