Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) vice presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has dismissed claims by ex-governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff, that the party’s standard bearer, Peter Obi, cannot get significant northern votes during the 2027 presidential election.
He spoke in reaction to comments made by Sheriff during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, in which the former governor reportedly questioned Obi’s electoral prospects in the North.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the former Kano governor insisted that the Obi-Kwankwaso, or “OK”, ticket offers Nigerians the best opportunity to reposition the country through what he described as competent, united and progressive leadership.
He faulted Sheriff for presenting himself as the voice of northern voters, insisting that Obi had already demonstrated considerable acceptance in the region during the 2023 presidential election.
“After a prolonged absence from public discourse, one would have expected that time away might have sharpened Senator Sheriff’s judgment. Regrettably, that does not appear to be the case,” he noted.
According to him, Sheriff was wrong to suggest that Obi lacks support in Northern Nigeria, noting that the former Labour Party presidential candidate secured about 2.8 million votes across the region in the 2023 presidential election.
He argued that the proposed Obi-Kwankwaso ticket would be even stronger in 2027, citing what he described as widespread public dissatisfaction with the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the electoral strength of the ticket in the North.
Referring to himself, the former Kano governor maintained that the inclusion of a prominent Northern politician on the ticket, whom he said had previously secured about 1.45 million votes in the region, would further strengthen NDC’s prospects in the polls.
Kwankwaso further rejected Sheriff’s assertion that voters in Kano State would not support Obi, insisting that the people of the state had consistently demonstrated political maturity.
He said Kano residents were “neither bigoted nor xenophobic” and had repeatedly shown confidence in the Kwankwasiyya movement, adding that they would support any credible presidential ticket presented under its platform.
“For the record, in his first outing on the presidential ballot, Mr. Obi secured approximately 2.8 million votes in the region—a remarkable achievement that cannot be dismissed lightly,” he stated.
Kwankwaso further argued that the prevailing economic situation and dissatisfaction with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration had strengthened the prospects of the NDC’s presidential ticket.
“Given the current national hardships, the widespread consensus on the failure of the APC administration, and the addition of a strong Northern figure to the ticket who previously garnered 1.45 million votes in the region, the OK ticket remains a formidable force in Northern politics,” he said.
