Abdulmumin Murtala, Kano

Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso’s defection from the All Progressive Congress, APC to the People’s Democratic Party PDP was not unexpected to many political watchers across the country for several reasons.

The most important reason is his well known presidential ambition. He had contested the 2014 presidential primaries that produced President Muhammadu Buhari as the flag bearer of the party for the 2015 election. Senator Kwankwaso emerged as a respected second in the primaries, beating even former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to the third position.

Ibrahim Shekarau

With President Buhari nursing a second term ambition under the APC, it had become apparent to Kwankwaso that he had no option than to opt out of the party to be able to contest elsewhere if he was keen to fulfil what had become a burning aspiration.

Moving to the PDP, the strongest opposition party, his former party inevitably turned out to be his only option.

He has, however, gone to the party to meet his former nemesis, that is his first term successor and second term predecessor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

Shekarau, a one time political associate of Buhari’s is said believed to have still some unsettled squabbles with the president, a development that has made both former governors of Kano be forced into the same political camp.

Though there were indications of a move by associates of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano to woo Shekarau to the APC, however, the presence of Buhari in the party made it a no-go area.

Such a move of bringing Shekarau into the APC was what was believed would have made Kwankwanso’s defection from the APC to the PDP ineffective.

However, officials of the state government described the move as an unfounded rumour. Remarkably, Shekarau was a founding member of the APC but moved out once the national leadership of the new party in 2014 wooed Kwankwanso into the fold of the then emerging national party.

Over the eight straight years he served as governor of Kano State he was able to build a popular support base that till today has continued almost devotedly behind his political exploits.

Kwankwaso also leads the Kwankwasiyya Movement which equally enjoys strong followership from the grassroots to top political positions that include the Deputy Governor of Kano, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, some members of the State House of Assembly as well as local government leaders.

Former governors of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and Mallam Ibrahim Shekara

Senator Kwankwaso teaming up with Shekarau certainly is expected to have its political effects in the state which by any reckoning is expected to for the first time challenge Buhari’s political hold on Kano votes. This does not mean that the incumbent Governor Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje cannot create a level playing ground for himself and his supporters.

However, it will not be business as usual given the fact that Kwankwaso and Shekarau are political icons in Kano who can determine the outcome of political activities in the state.

Already, Senator Kwankwaso has taken along with him to the PDP some members of the House of Representatives in the state.

He also has the loyalty of the Deputy Governor, Prof. Abubakar. Indeed, because of the deputy governor’s loyalty there were fears of his impeachment earlier this week.

This is because of the sour relationship between the governor and his deputy.

Kwankwaso

Although the state government has said that the Deputy Governor is insignificant for it to spend money to orchestrate his impeachment, it was widely alleged that Alhaji Abdullahi Yusuf Attah Fage who was impeached as the Speaker of the state House of Assembly last Monday was removed and replaced with the former Deputy Speaker Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum to set the grounds for the impeachment of the Deputy Governor.

It was no surprise that the camps of both men have been in hopes since news of the reconciliation between both men.