Politics

2023: Fresh APC Crisis Threatens Tinubu’s Chances In Kano

Published

3 years ago

November 5, 2022

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State is facing a fresh crisis that is threatening the presidential candidate of the party, Bola Tinubu.

This time, there is sharp disagreement between some members of the House of Representatives, led by the Majority Leader, Ado Doguwa, and the Deputy Gubernatorial candidate of the party, Muritala Garo.

DAILY POST recalls that during the week, Garo had alleged that he was assaulted by the majority leader, who he claimed disrupted an ongoing meeting by some stakeholders in the State.

However, Doguwa had also countered the claim, stating that Garo is leading the capturing of the State apparatus and excluding members of the National Assembly.

According to people familiar with the matter, the deputy governorship candidate, who is from a famous Garo Family, was the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, a position that allowed him to amass considerable power in the State. He is also reported to be married to the daughter of Atiku Abubakar.

Garo also indicated interest to contest for the governorship election, however, Governor Umar Ganduje settled for Nasiru Gawuna. To appeal to the young Garo, he was offered the running mate slot.

On the other hand, Doguwa has been in the House of Representatives since 2003 and he is one of the lawmakers expected to indicate interest in the speakership of the 10th Assembly if he is elected.

This latest row may indicate a major problem in the party considering that Doguwa won the 2019 elections after a rerun, and he faces the battle to return to the House.

It would be recalled that during the primaries, the Kano APC almost collapsed due to an internal crisis that led to several politicians decamping to the NNPP. To stem the flow, Ganduje suspended his senatorial ambition by allowing two senators from the State to return during the primaries.

However, the crisis in the State appears to have returned, and both Atiku and Rabiu Kwankwaso are waiting to pick from the fallout from the crisis.

Kano and 2023 race

For years, Kano State remained the largest voting State, and the votes from the State have decided the outcome of several presidential elections. In 2019, Buhari won Kano State with 1,464,768 (78.9 percent) of the total votes cast to beat Atiku, who polled 391,593 votes.

With Buhari out of the picture, Kwankwaso and his NNPP is one of the favourites in the State, alongside Mr Atiku of the PDP.

For months, Tinubu has prioritised the State ahead of the elections. Aside from Lagos and Abuja, Tinubu has spent more time in Kano than any other State since he declared to run for president.

In his timetable for campaign activities, he is going to have two rallies in Kano State, one in January and another before the grand finale in Lagos State.

During a press briefing on Thursday at the National Assembly, Doguwa said despite the side talks, Rabiu Kwankwaso remains powerful in the State, adding that APC will lose the State if the crisis is allowed to linger.

“Before becoming the running mate, he (Garo) was the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs. I am sure you journalists know what we call those ministries in the State. We call them the ministry of petroleum resources. This is someone that got the opportunity to serve in a ministry that has a stupendous amount of money.

“His last wife now is the daughter of Atiku Abubakar. When he was not given the ticket, I visited him, and he told me that since you have messed me up, I will rather become an inlaw to the president than a deputy governor who will make me just like a messenger. He has no interest to work for the APC, he is working to become an in-law to the next president,” he said.

Doguwa in the press briefing also praised Kwankwaso, stating that he would be ready to reconcile with the former governor of the State if he is willing to reach out to him.

He explained that his grievance with Kwankwaso is a personal one, not political. He stated that a single phone call from the ex-governor will resolve the crisis between the duo.

Doguwa stressed that if the leadership of the party is not ready to intervene, APC should forget Kano.

For Tinubu, the bickering between Messrs Doguwa and Garo could cost the party the 5,927,565 votes in the State.

DAILY POST

Politics

Obasanjo, Atiku, Obi Meet In Abuja

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi met in Abuja on Saturday.

The trio were among prominent political figures who attended the Tambuwal Colloquium, titled “Leadership, Service and Statesmanship at 60,” held at the New Event Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, in honour of the 60th birthday of former Sokoto State Governor and Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Atiku confirmed his presence at the event in a post on his X handle, stating that he had arrived at the venue for the colloquium organised to mark Tambuwal’s milestone birthday.

The former vice president also shared images of himself, Obasanjo and Obi at the event.

The event attracted political leaders, statesmen and stakeholders from across the country.

Politics

PANDEF Wades Into Rivers Crisis, Sets Up Seven-member Mediation Team

Published

2 days ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has intervened in the political crisis in Rivers State, calling on all actors to sheathe their swords and embrace peace in the interest of the development of the state and the region in general.

Expressing concern that the political disagreement involving the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly might degenerate to total lawlessness, the Board and National Executive Committee of PANDEF set up a seven-member reconciliation team to resolve the issues.

The team, which is headed by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, has six other members.

They are Senator Obende Domingo (Vice Chairman); Chief Essien Nduese; Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agari; Chief Mike Ejiofor; Mrs Nella Rabana-Andem, SAN; and Prince Godwin Okotie, the Deputy National Secretary of PANDEF, who will serve as the secretary of the team.

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

3 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”