2027: ‘Even The Worst Enemy Will Tell You I Have Kano’ – Kwankwaso Downplays Ali Modu Sheriff’s Claims

The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has dismissed claims by former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, that his alliance with the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would struggle to attract support in Kano and other parts of the north.

NEWSNGR reports that Kwankwaso, speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Monday, argued that his political strength in Kano is widely recognised and his political opponents can attest to it.

According to the former Governor of Kano State, Sheriff was merely trying to impress President Bola Tinubu that he was working for him.

Kwankwaso said he welcomes attempts by opponents to underrate him or his capacity, stating that it is politically advantageous.

He said, “My humble self, Ali Modu Sheriff and his friend Bola Tinubu were all in the APC. We know ourselves very well. Up to now, I communicate with them, especially Senator Ali Sheriff himself.

“I have heard him when he was here, but I can tell you he was not serious about it. He just wanted to impress our brother in the Villa, to convince him that he’s working.

“Even the worst enemies will tell you that Kwankwaso has Kano. I am not one of the politicians who go out there bragging, most of the time I feel happy when people decide to underrate me or what I can do because it sends people to sleep while we are working.”

Kwankwaso further expressed confidence that neither Kano nor northern Nigeria would abandon the NDC alliance, noting that Peter Obi remains a formidable political force across the region.

According to Kwankwaso, the combination of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and Peter Obi’s supporters would reshape the political landscape ahead of the 2027 election.

He said, “Whether anybody has the capacity to take votes away from us in Kano, or indeed in northern Nigeria, is just a matter of patience. By the grace of God, the good people of Kano State, and indeed northern Nigeria, are completely different from what he was trying to paint here.

“Peter is not a new person in terms of running an election in northern Nigeria. In the last election, he contested himself and got over two million votes in northern Nigeria. By whatever standard, two million is a huge number. In many parts of northern Nigeria, Peter himself is very formidable. The people who voted for him that time are still around.

“This combination of Obidients and Kwankwasiyya will spring a lot of surprises, especially from the young men and women who are not too worried about some of the sentiments Ali Modu Sheriff and other people are trying to paint.”