The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Obidient Movement have brushed off claims by former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, who described a joint presidential ticket between Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso as “dead on arrival.”
Both groups insisted that the duo possess the governance credentials and grassroots popularity needed to secure victory in the 2027 presidential election.
Responding to Ganduje’s assertions that neither leader commands the political legacy to win nationally or secure Kano State, the opposition figures countered that the former APC chairman has lost his own political clout.
NDC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Abdulmumin Abdulsalam, dismissed Ganduje’s remarks as inconsequential, arguing that he has been sidelined within his own party. Abdulsalam maintained that Kwankwaso’s deep-seated influence in Kano guarantees the NDC’s success across state and national polls, recalling that Ganduje originally served as Kwankwaso’s deputy. He added that Obi’s performance in the 2023 election demonstrated widespread national appeal, predicting an even higher vote turnout in northern Nigeria in 2027 due to ongoing economic hardships.
“I think Ganduje is just blabbing. But we in NDC believe that when we get to the bridge, we shall cross it,” Abdulsalam said. “Ganduje, as of today, is no longer popular in Kano… No child can claim to be a bigger father than his father.”
Similarly, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, rejected Ganduje’s critique, arguing that the former APC chief lacks the moral authority to judge either candidate.
Tanko highlighted Obi’s record of leaving ₦75 billion in Anambra State’s coffers without misappropriation, contrasting it with corruption allegations against Ganduje. He further credited Kwankwaso with major infrastructure projects in Kano, as well as foreign scholarship programmes that trained local pilots, nurses, and engineers.
“I don’t know why people still take Ganduje seriously,” Tanko remarked. “He has no credibility to challenge somebody who left N75bn in the coffers of Anambra State… What credentials does Ganduje have to challenge what these people have already left behind?”
Ganduje had previously sparked the exchange on Tuesday after declaring that an Obi-Kwankwaso alignment under the NDC lacked the leadership track record required to challenge the ruling party in 2027.