John Odekina, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kogi, said former Kano State Governor, Rabi’u Kwankwaso remains the only credible alternative in the 2019 presidential election.
Mr Odekina who made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Wednesday in Abuja, said Mr Kwankwaso has the capacity to rescue Nigeria from current economic dislocation.
According to him, the former governor possesses “administrative ingenuity” and has the potentials to provide answers to pressing national questions.
“As a former governor of Kano, he turned around the state into one of the richest states in Africa with the policy of inclusiveness.
“Kwankwaso should be given opportunity by Nigerians to turn around the economy into the best in Africa,’’ he said.
Mr Odekina expressed optimism that the Senator would address problems of critical infrastructure including provision of stable power in the country.
“He has the vision and leadership qualities to make the dreams and expectations of the Nigerian masses realistic,” Mr Odekina added.
NAN recalls that Mr Kwankwaso, a serving Senator representing Kano Central, had contested in the last APC primaries that produced President Muhammadu Buhari as candidate ahead of the 2015 elections.
It could however be recalled that just recently, there was mounting pressure from some PDP bigwigs on Mr Kwankwaso to dump the ruling APC and re-join them.
The renewed call on Kwankwaso to go back to the PDP, according to some credible sources, was heightened few days after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar left the APC with clear indications that he would also be heading back to the PDP.
A source close to Kwankwaso in Kano, who preferred not to be named, said, “I can remember that Senator Kwankwaso and some PDP bigwigs, including Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Abdul Ningi had met in Kaduna and Abuja respectively and discussed politics,” he said.
Other sources said that some of the party’s chieftains were more disposed to Kwankwaso than any other.
“Kwankwaso came second to President Muhammadu Buhari during the APC’s primaries ahead of 2015 general elections and he has a towering image in many geo-political zones and therefore an asset for the PDP,” one of the sources said.
He said that was why he was being approached by some notables so that in the event the APC fielded Buhari, the contest would be “fierce and competitive with Kwankwaso as PDP flag bearer.”
