A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, has declared that the Kwankwasiyya Movement no longer has the political strength to determine the outcome of the 2027 general election in Kano State.
Bichi said the anticipated return of Senators Rufai Sani Hanga and Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya to the APC had significantly weakened the electoral base of the movement led by former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The Managing Director of the Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Development Authority stated this in an interview with The Nation in Kano.
Bichi, who served as Director-General of the APC and President Bola Tinubu Campaign Organisation in Kano during the 2023 elections, described the expected defections as evidence of the collapse of the Kwankwasiyya political structure.
“Kwankwasiyya has lost all the relevant political heavyweights in Kano State. With the return of Hanga and Gaya to APC, the movement can no longer determine votes in the 2027 general election,” he said.
According to Bichi, Hanga and Gaya had met with President Bola Tinubu and expressed their intention to return to the ruling party after consulting political stakeholders in their wards and local government areas.
He described Hanga, who represents Kano Central in the Senate, as an influential politician whose political activities date back to 1992.
Bichi claimed that the senator wielded considerable influence across the 15 local government areas in Kano Central, including the eight councils within the Kano metropolis.
“Kano Central alone commands more than one-third of the total votes in Kano State. With Senator Hanga joining the APC, victory for the ruling party in the zone is already assured,” he stated.
Speaking on Gaya, a former Kano State governor under the defunct National Republican Convention, Bichi said his return would strengthen the APC’s prospects in Kano South.
He maintained that Gaya remained an important political figure in the senatorial district, which comprises 16 local government areas.
“From Kano South with 16 local government areas, Gaya has a lot to deliver in next year’s general election,” Bichi said.
He also described the former senator as a major factor in the outcome of the 2023 election in the district.
“In 2023, Senator Gaya contested Kano South against Senator Kawu Ismaila, who won under NNPP. Ismaila is already with the APC. Now that Gaya is coming to join Ismaila in the APC, it is a very big advantage for our party,” he said.
Bichi expressed confidence that the expected return of the two senators would help the APC regain political dominance in Kano ahead of the 2027 elections.
He argued that electoral success depended largely on political structures and numerical strength, both of which he claimed the Kwankwasiyya Movement had lost.
“Politics is about structure and numbers. Kwankwasiyya has lost both. APC is now better positioned to win Kano convincingly,” Bichi said.
