The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje has mocked the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 elections, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso for trying to hijack his party.
Although, Ganduje did not specifically mention the name of his erstwhile boss, but the event of the past few days showed categorically that he was aiming a subtle dig at him.
Ganduje disclosed this Thursday when he received the Forum of Concern Presidential Candidates who paid him a courtesy visit at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.
TheHintsNews reports that the crisis rocking the NNPP assumed another dimension on Tuesday, as a faction loyal to the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam Kwankwaso.
However, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party, loyal to Kwankwaso also expelled, with immediate effect, Aniebonam, who is also the founder of the party and some members for anti-party activities.
Ganduje stated: “I will convey your views and requests. And I will ensure that you see Mr President eye to eye. I thank you for being faithful to your respective parties. What I am seeing is one political aspirant who became a presidential candidate by accident. Who became a presidential candidate by hijacking another party because he was partyless.”
“He decided to hijack a political party. And since, he could not realise his aspiration he decided to make that party a revenue platform rather than a political party.
“He has now decided to even expel the founder. God forbid. He will not succeed. You presidential candidates I salute you for being good ambassadors of your own political parties, not destroyers of your own political parties. And not turning your political parties as a source of revenue.
“No doubt we will include you in the three states that we are having elections come November this year. Than you and God bless.”
Earlier, Some presidential candidates of opposition political parties in the 2023 elections called on the Ganduje to prevail on President Bola Tinubu to include them in his government.
Some of the Presidential candidates in attendance that met with Ganduje on Thursday in Abuja included: All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Action Democratic Party (ADP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Action Peoples Party (APP), among others.
The Presidential candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Ambassador Felix Johnson Osakwe, who spoke on behalf of the Forum of Concern Presidential Candidates, said they were for peace, hence Tinubu should include them in his government.
He said the opposition candidates are for peace and development of Nigeria, hence they refused to challenge Tinubu’s victory in the court of law.
His words: “We are here sir, not only to see Mr president, number one is to be identified with you and to thank God for your appointment, then number two, we see you as a father sir, who has been a Commander-in Chief of a state and here you are today to be the pilot that will lead the presidential candidate especially those who are ready and those who love this country and the interest of this country first before politics, before parties.
“That you will be the right person to lead us to meet with Mr President, so he can hear our own views in person and also for him to know that it is not all the presidential candidate that is against him.
“We choose not to go to court because this is Nigeria and we have no other country to go.
“So we are here to thank you and to thank God and everyone seated here and to say that as presidential candidates, there is something we can offer this country and I believe with a government of inclusion will be necessary in terms like this.”