Vice Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has warned political parties against relying on the number of governors they control as a guarantee of victory in the 2027 general election.
Speaking at the NDC Town Hall Meeting in Rivers State on Thursday, the former Kano State governor said an incumbent government could still lose an election despite controlling several states.
Kwankwaso urged politicians banking on their control of more than 30 governors to avoid what he described as a major political mistake.
He said, “The sitting president lost the election. I’m giving you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That is a very big mistake.”
The NDC vice-presidential candidate also predicted that several governors, particularly in the North, would struggle to campaign for their parties because of what he described as their poor performance in office.
“By the grace of God, all of them, especially the ones in the North, because I studied the trend. The trend is those governors and their party have performed woefully to the extent that it is very difficult for them even to come out and campaign,” he said.
Kwankwaso also criticised the management of public funds by state and federal governments, arguing that increased government revenues had not translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians.
Recalling his experience as governor in 1999, he said states and local governments received about N4 billion at the time, but alleged that governments now receive substantially more without corresponding development.
“Now in one year, we have seen it on social media that our government collected over N1.11 trillion, just less than one year. You go around, what have you done with that money? Close to nothing,” he said.
He said the alleged poor performance of governments had fuelled public anger, while insecurity remained a major concern, particularly in Northern Nigeria.
“And people are very angry. And this anger is bad, and worse is the issue of insecurity, especially in northern Nigeria,” Kwankwaso stated.
