National Chairman of All progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has hit his former boss, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, describing him as a serial presidential election loser.
The former governor of Kano State claimed that the problem of the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples party (NNPP) was compounded by his inability to maintain a principled stand in party politics over the years.
He spoke when Bauchi State NNPP governorship candidate, Senator Haliru Dauda Jika visited him at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja to formally announce his defection to the APC.
Throwing more punches at Kwankwaso, Ganduje identified the pursuit of selfish interest as the bane of his inability to realise his presidential ambition.
Labelling the Kwankwasiyya-backed NNPP as deceitful and exploitative, Ganduje applauded and described Jika’s decision to return to the APC fold as a step in the right direction.
His words: “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 compared with 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.
“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 specialises in deceiving 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, he decided to leave APC because of his ambition after failing to pick the presidential ticket. He went 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 election and would remain a professional failure. He is egocentric. He loves himself so much. I am happy you have dumped the red cap. It is a very sensible action that you have taken.”
While lamenting the reverses suffered by the APC in the 2023 poll in Bauchi State, Ganduje promised to ensure inclusiveness of party stalwarts in the state as part of ongoing effort to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 poll.
Earlier, Jika who dumped the NNPP alongside scores of states and national assemblies candidates explained that his decision was based on the wishes of his teeming supporters in Bauchi state.
He pledged to remain loyal to the party, and disclosed that Vice President Kashim Shettima and the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, also influenced his decision to return to the APC fold.
