Former Vice President of Nigeria and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, paid a visit on Tuesday, August 15, to the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The two political heavyweights did not disclose the purpose of the visit, which has given rise to speculation.
Reacting to the reunion in an exclusive interview with Daily News 24, Dr. Kabiru Sufi, a Kano-based political analyst, described the timing of the meeting as ‘surprising’.
Sufi posited that it is time for an opportunity for any individual within the opposition to forge an alliance with Senator Kwankwaso.
“When we consider the timing, it comes just after the release of the ministerial list, and all speculation before the list was released was that Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso would be among the ministerial Nominees, but when the list came out, his name was not there, so that has put to rest all speculation of his involvement in this present administration. So that provided an opportunity for the opposition to reach out to him, perhaps to form a strong opposition.” He said.
Kabiru Sufi noted that more instances of alliance could transpire in the future. He added that other individuals omitted from the ministerial list might also be approached to reinforce the opposition’s influence.
“We might see some more realignments in the future; there might still be other forces that have been excluded from the ministerial list that may be useful to the opposition pending the determination of the suit. So I think this is the beginning of alignments and realignments within the opposition and, of course, even in the government Itself.” He said.
Given that the competing candidates within the opposition are all heavyweight figures with massive followings, it would be difficult to have them collaborate. Nonetheless, Kabiru noted that the nature of this alliance among the opposition hinges on the outcome of legal suits challenging Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory.
“The court case would determine that. If at all Atiku and Obi lose to Jagaban at the tribunal, there might be a merger of parties or an alliance, not necessarily forming one party but remaining as parties themselves but then forming a strong opposition; it all depends on how the judgement at the tribunal goes.” He stated.
