President Muhammadu Buhari should prepare for an embarrassing loss in Kano in 2019, a former Governor of the state, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said.
Recall that Kwankwaso was Kano governor in 2015 when Buhari won 1.9 million votes there, the most from any part of the country.
Kwankwaso, who is presently representing Kano Central senatorial district in the National Assembly, on Tuesday defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But speaking on Friday, the Chairman of Buhari Campaign Organisation in 2019, Rotimi Amaechi, said that Buhari would win in Bauchi, Sokoto and Kano even if he is “on a sick bed”.
Amaechi said, “On those that defected at the House of Representatives and Senate, where do they come from? They come from areas that the President is comfortable. Do you honestly believe that the President will lose election in Sokoto? We are not God, but it’s one of his comfort zones.”
He added, “If you bring the President on a sick bed to Bauchi and Kano, he will win and he has never lost election in Bauchi. But that is a bit arrogant on our side; we should not underestimate them.”
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However, Kwankwaso has rejected Amaechi’s claims on President Buhari’s chances in Kano.
In an interview with Premium Times, Kwankwaso’s spokesperson, Binta Spikin, said, “I think his defection will greatly affect the votes in 2019. His defection will not only affect the chances of the APC in Kano, his defection has brought down APC.
“If you look across Nigeria today, not Kano alone, there’s nowhere in Nigeria that you don’t have the presence of Kwankwasiyya (supporters of Mr Kwankwaso).
“Kano is his home base and he is well grounded in Kano. Even without the government, he had a 60 percent of the voters, so what do you think will happen now that he has joined forces with people like Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau?”
Spikin added, “Even if the government puts whatever in place, there is no way President Buhari will win in Kano, there’s no way.”