•30 govs won’t guarantee victory for APC in 2027, Kwankwaso insists
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has challenged Nigerians to scrutinise his background and publicly identify any wrongdoing he may have committed.
The former Anambra State governor also urged Nigerians to verify the background of his running mate and former governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
This is as Kwankwaso issued a stern warning to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that the fact that its has overs 30 governors does not guarantee it victory in 2027.
Obi issued the challenge in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during a town hall meeting with voters tagged “Obi Talks Nigeria”, where he fielded questions on the 2027 general election.
The former Anambra State governor said he and his running mate, Kwankwaso, had made their personal and educational backgrounds available for public scrutiny.
“I want to give every Nigerian the opportunity to know who I am,” Obi said.
“Both of us have presented our backgrounds, from our dates of birth to our schools, education and all, to the people. You can go and verify our backgrounds worldwide, anywhere.”
Obi’s comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the backgrounds and records of politicians positioning themselves for the 2027 presidential election.
He also made a veiled reference to his legal dispute with his former spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, over alleged defamatory comments about their past dealings during the 2023 presidential campaign.
According to Obi, he instituted the legal action after Okonkwo claimed to possess information about his past that could shock Nigerians.
“We have sued somebody in court. He said he knows something he can say that will shock people. I said I want you to say what people will be shocked about,” Obi said.
“And I’m challenging every Nigerian. If there is anything that you know I have done that is wrong, say it out now.
“I’m challenging the world over: if you know anything that Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has done that is wrong, say it out now.”
The NDC candidate said anyone aspiring to occupy the highest political office in the country must emerge through a credible and transparent process.
“You cannot continue to answer His Excellency when the process that got you there is not excellent,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso has issued a stern warning to the ruling APC, saying that the fact that its has overs 30 governors does not guarantee it victory in 2027.
The vice-presidential asserted that the party’s control of over 30 state governors is not a magic wand that can guarantee electoral victory for President Bola Tinubu at the polls.
Speaking at the event, the former Kano State governor noted that relying purely on political structures and incumbent governors is a dangerous gamble.
Kwankwaso said having many governors does not automatically mean that a political party will win an election.
“The sitting president lost the election. I’m giving you an example, especially for those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That is a very big mistake,” he said.
He said past elections had shown that an incumbent government could lose despite having strong political control across several states.
The former Kano governor also said some Northern governors may find it difficult to campaign for their parties in 2027 because of public dissatisfaction with their performance.
“By the grace of God, all of them, especially the ones in the North, because I studied the trend. The trend is that those governors and their party have performed woefully to the extent that it is very difficult for them even to come out and campaign,” he said.
Kwankwaso also questioned how governments have used the increased revenue available to them, saying higher allocations have not resulted in better living conditions for Nigerians.
He recalled that when he became governor in 1999, state and local governments received much less money.
“Now, in one year, we have seen it on social media that our government collected over N1.11trillion in just less than one year. You go around, what have you done with that money? Close to nothing,” he said.
According to him, the gap between government revenue and the living conditions of Nigerians is increasing public anger.
He said the situation is even more serious in Northern Nigeria because of the continued insecurity in the region.