The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje has mocked the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Rabiu Kwankwaso, saying he (Kwankwaso) would remain a serial loser.
Ganduje made this statement while hosting the Bauchi state NNPP governorship candidate in the 2023 election, Haliru Dauda Jika, who formally defected to the ruling APC at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the former governor of Kano, the pursuit of selfish interest as against national interest would continue to hinder the realisation of Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition.
He also blamed Kwankwaso’s inability to maintain a principled stand in party politics over the years as another factor that made the former minister of defence a perpetual loser.
The APC chairman, who hailed and described the decision of Jika to return back to the ruling party as a step in the right direction, noted that the former NNPP flag bearer in Bauchi state by now must have realised that the ‘Kwankwasiyya backed’ NNPP as “deceitful and exploitative.”
Receiving Jika with the entire NNPP structure in Bauchi state, Ganduje said, “When I got the news that you were coming to see me in my house to discuss the way forward, I knew I was meeting a very formidable politician in the person of Senator Jika who is a household name in Bauchi state.
“He is returning to a party that is very progressive and focused when we look at where he was coming from. He is coming from a party that used to be a decent party and highly respected but was later hijacked and polluted by the kwankwasiya group.
“We are happy that the original NNPP is taking back its proper position and leaving the kwankwasiya group deserted and thrown out completely.
“The Kwankwasiyya group headed by the former kano state governor was forced to go into a sabbatical leave for eight years before it found its way back to Government House in Kano.
“The Kwankwasiya head who wears a red cap is the person who prefers to be a king in hell than be a servant in paradise. He specializes in decieving people. He was first in PDP, came back to APC when it was formed. That was when the nPDP merged with the legacy parties to form the APC.
“Instead of staying in APC because of his ambition, he decided to leave APC after failing to pick the presidential ticket to go back to the PDP. He could not stay there again when he failed to pick the ticket.
“He still went on his own to contest the presidential poll and was defeated twice. He is a professional contestant for presidential elections and would remain a professional failure. He loves himself so much. I am happy you have dumped the red cap . It is a very sensible action that you have taken.”
The APC national chairman then promised the returnees of inclusiveness in the running of the party in the state as part of ongoing effort to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 poll, stressing that the party regretted its performance at the just concluded general elections in the state.
Ganduje performed a symbolic change by removing the red cap of the Kwankwasiya group and replacing it with the unbroken chain insignia cap of President Bola Tinubu to receive Jika and his group to the ruling party.
The former NNPP candidate, while addressing newsmen after the ceremony, said his decision to return to APC was informed by the wishes of his teeming supporters in Bauchi state.
He said, “My dumping NNPP for APC has nothing to do with the presidential candidate of NNPP. I have no issue with Kwankwaso. The interest of Bauchi State informed my returning back to APC.”