Galadima Rules Out Kwankwaso-Tinubu Alliance, Says NNPP Will Decide 2027 Presidency

Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has dismissed any possibility that Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso would align with President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Galadima accused the Tinubu administration of undermining Kwankwaso and the NNPP in Kano by backing the deposed Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, despite his removal by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP.

“How can Kwankwaso be a friend of the APC with what they are doing to us in Kano? Appointing two emirs in one town? There is a Federal Government emir and a state emir. Who has the responsibility to appoint emirs and pay them?” Galadima queried. He alleged that the Federal Government has provided Emir Bayero with security escorts, including over 40 police vans, while insecurity continues to ravage parts of Kano.

The NNPP stalwart declared that his party would be pivotal in determining Nigeria’s next president. “We are the people who will decide who becomes the President of Nigeria in 2027” he said.

The Kano Emirate has remained at the heart of political and royal power struggles over the last decade. Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II succeeded Ado Bayero in 2014 but was deposed in 2020 during a fallout with then-governor Abdullahi Ganduje. His successor, Aminu Ado Bayero, held sway until May 2024, when Governor Yusuf reinstated Sanusi. The reinstatement has been contested in court, with security agents heavily guarding Sanusi’s palace.

Galadima argued that the Federal Government is exploiting the emirship tussle for political gain. “They are keeping Bayero because they think he will help them in 2027, but no Kano emir has ever determined a Nigerian president,” he said. He further claimed that Tinubu once lobbied for Sanusi’s emergence as emir, challenging the president to deny it.

Dismissing speculations of Kwankwaso joining the APC, Galadima insisted he had no knowledge of any such plan. “Kwankwaso is the strongest political iroko in Nigeria today. He dared the APC and defeated them in Kano. If anyone says they persuaded him to support the APC, let them prove it” he added.