…I won’t step down for anyone, door shut on alliances – Kwankwaso
A splinter group within the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has emerged.
Known as New Afenifere, leaders of the group met Presidential Candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, in Lagos on Sunday and threw their weight behind him.
The division within the camp of Afenifere deepened after the group purportedly endorsed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
But the Acting Afenifere leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, is backing the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi.
In a twist to the division in the Pan-Yoruba group, the New Afenifere announced its support for Kwankwaso on Sunday.
The Coordinator of New Afenifere, Comrade Ajibade Adeyeye, stressed that his group chose to identify with the NNPP presidential candidate because of his track record.
“The new Afenifere hereby states that we are concerned socio political umbrella known as new Afenifere and I dare say we have decided to take our future into our hands to prepare for the upcoming 2023 election.”
“We have called on our elder statesmen not to impose on us anymore but to allow us to choose our preferred presidential candidate because we believe we are old enough to make decision for ourselves and for our future.
“So, on behalf of the New Afenifere, we have decided to forge ahead and endorse the candidature of senator, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, together with his running mate, Bishop Isaac Idahosa to see toward a new Nigeria.”
The NNPP presidential candidate who welcomed the endorsement promised to run an inclusive governance, stressing his party would salvage the country.
He said, “Let me on behalf of the members of our party thank the leadership of the New Afenifere, for finding us worthy of this endorsement. I am not surprised that these young men have decided to endorse us because even in Kano, North West, South, we have young men and women who are supporting this course.
“I believe NNPP is for the young people, world and everybody, so I want to thank you for the foresight and for doing the right thing and I want to assure you that our party will carry each and everyone along of you at national level, zone, state and even at grassroots.
“Everybody knows today where we are in this country, the challenges that we have really have to do with the type of leadership that we had right from 1999 till date and that is why we felt new ideas, new thinking must come in for us to change the status quo.
“The two parties have failed in our opinion. PDP was the first to fail, then we thought another progressive party in the name of APC will save this country but many people are of the opinion that even PDP was better than the APC because of where we found ourselves in term of security, economy, dilapidated infrastructure and so on.
“Our young men can not go to school, either because of the strike, insecurity or money to buy forms or to maintain themselves in schools but our party has come out to ensure that every child have access to education, not minding it economic status. I thank you for creating time, and I want to assure you that we will work together in the south west and in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso on Sunday, asked those expecting him to step down for another flag bearer to perish the thought because “for us in the NNPP and Kwankwansiya, our party is on the right track to clinch the leadership of the country.”
Speaking at a forum with the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, and senior journalists in Lagos, Kwankwaso, who disclosed why he left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC; and why the alliance talks between the NNPP and Labour Party, LP, collapsed, gave two major reasons he won’t step down.
The former two-time governor of Kano State also warned Nigerians to avert a repeat of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua scenario in 2023 by scrutinising the candidates and ensuring that the best is elected.
Claiming that he is the best man for the Aso Villa job, Kwankwaso, who holds a doctorate degree in Engineering, urged older candidates to look at themselves in the mirror, tell themselves the truth, quit the presidential race and save the country avoidable agony as was witnessed when late President Yar’Adua died in 2010.
Kwankwaso also outlined how he would fight insecurity, poverty, boost the economy, turn the fortunes of the education sector around, and how he would get the funds to do so.
Asked if he would yield to pressure to step down for any of the other candidates, Kwankwaso said apart from the NNPP being the only party that is growing now, it was too late for alliances and mergers to be formed because the window for that has been closed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
