Ahead of the 2019 elections, former Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is expected to decamp from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a move expected to upend the political equation in the state.
He is also expected to join the presidential race for 2019.
Kwankwaso is the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, a powerful political group with thousands of followers across the state, especially in key government positions.
According to reports, Kwankwaso’s imminent move is being fuelled by his frosty relationship with the national APC leadership and his successor, Dr Umar Ganduje, who was also his deputy.
The former Defence Minister and some other party bigwigs have reportedly been sidelined by the party, which prompted a move by Vice President Atiku Abubakar back to the PDP.
Kwankwaso is expected to lead a huge contingent of members of APC in Kano back to the PDP and the opposition party leaders in the state are reportedly eagerly awaiting their arrival.
As one of the five governors that defected from the PDP to APC in 2014, Kwankwaso hugely contributed to the APC’s massive electoral victory in the state which amounted to two million votes.
The PDP are believed to be eagerly anticipating his return to effect the same results during the 2019 general elections.
According to Ripples, an unnamed source said, “We are eagerly awaiting his return and when it happens, we would have successfully broken into the votes APC got from the state in 2015.”