President Bola Tinubu is currently having a closed-door meeting with Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Kwankwaso, a former Minister of Defence, has been a close ally of Tinubu, who has variously described the incumbent President as a strategist, Daily Post reports.
Daily News 24 reports that the immediate past governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, served under Kwankwaso as deputy governor before succeeding him.
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Both men later fell out over some political differences.
About nine days before the inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, as the successor of the President Muhammadu Buhari, a leaked audio surfaced which indicated that Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje is infuriated by the meeting between Tinubu and the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Progressives Party in the 2023 presidential election, Rabiu Kwankwaso, which held in Paris, France.
Ganduje known to be one of the loyalists of the President-elect was recorded venting his anger about the meeting.
Ganduje reportedly had a phone conversation about the meeting with the former vice presidential candidate (placeholder) of All Progressives Congress, Ibrahim Masari in the leaked audio published by Daily Nigerian.
Ganduje was heard expressing his grouse about the meeting, stating that Tinubu was unfair to him for meeting with his rival Kwankwaso.
However, Masari, in the telephone conversation, urged Ganduje to keep calm and not be angered by the situation at hand.
Ganduje reacts to leaked audio questioning Tinubu’s meeting with Kwankwaso
Reacting to the leaked audio, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, said the ‘exaggerated’ publicity given to the audio was the handiwork of paid agents, who he claimed are trying to use it to cause disaffection between Messrs Ganduje, Masari and Tinubu.
“From all indications some people who are not comfortable with the existing long cordiality between Tinubu, Ganduje and Masari are bent on exploiting the situation to their advantage.
“The governor and the president-elect have since realised this mischievous attempt to cause disaffection between them.”
The Kano spokesperson said Messrs Tinubu and Ganduje “would not allow the sound working relationship, which has been waxing stronger, particularly at this critical time, to be destroyed by some self-centred individuals.”
Mr Garba called on members of the APC and the general public to disregard such attempt, and remain calm and loyal to the party to ensure the successful inauguration of the president-elect.
