2027 will Be Fight Between Nigerians and Oppressors, Says Kwankwaso

•South-east KNN targets 5m votes for Obi-Kwankwaso

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has described the 2027 general election as a battle between Nigerians and those he called “the oppressors”, urging citizens to unite beyond political party lines to rescue the country.

Kwankwaso reportedly made the declaration when he received a delegation of South-east leaders and stakeholders of the Kwankwaso National Network (KNN), led by the group’s South-east Zonal Coordinator, Dr Ukpai Iro Ukpai, at his Maitama, Abuja residence.

Ukpai, who disclosed this in an interview with jouurnalists in Umuahia, said the delegation was at the former Kano State governor’s residence to brief him on KNN’s activities and mobilisation efforts towards securing a landslide victory for the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket in the South-east in 2027.

According to Ukpai, Kwankwaso told the delegation that growing dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the country had created a strong desire among Nigerians for a political reset.

He said the 2027 election should not be reduced to a contest between political parties but viewed as a decisive choice about the future of Nigeria.

“It is not about me, it is about us,” Kwankwaso was quoted as saying, while urging KNN members and supporters of the alliance to remain committed to the struggle beyond the 2027 election.

The former Kano governor also reportedly said the outcome of the recent Osun governorship election had shown that votes could count in 2027 if Nigerians remained resolute in defending their mandates.

He urged Nigerians to resist electoral fraud and vote selling, stressing that no immediate personal gain is more important than the future of the country.

Kwankwaso, according to Ukpai, charged KNN leaders to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the election.

The South-east delegation subsequently pledged to work towards delivering at least five million votes for the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket across the region.

Ukpai said the delegation also briefed Kwankwaso on KNN’s structures, activities, challenges and mobilisation efforts across the South-east, with emphasis on strengthening the alliance and consolidating grassroots support.

He said Kwankwaso expressed satisfaction with the growing activities of KNN, describing the network as one of the powerful support groups behind the political movement.

The former governor also reportedly recalled the historic political cooperation between the North and South-east, citing the Second Republic alliance between former President Shehu Shagari and Dr. Alex Ekwueme.

“The North has always worked in alliance with the South, especially the South-East. President Shehu Shagari picked Dr Alex Ekwueme as his Vice. Today, what is most important, history is repeating itself,” he was quoted as saying.

Kwankwaso also described the NDC as the biggest opposition platform in the country and expressed confidence that its political strength would continue to grow.

He reportedly lamented insecurity, poor infrastructure, unreliable electricity and water supply, declining educational standards and challenges in agriculture, insisting that Nigerians urgently needed a change of direction.

According to the South East KNN Coordinator, Kwankwaso also promised that education would receive priority under the Obi-Kwankwaso administration, regretting what he described as the continued neglect and deterioration of the sector.

National Coordinator of KNN, Mashood Shitu, according to Ukpai, described the South-east delegation’s engagement with Kwankwaso as evidence of the growing commitment of the network across the country.