Many northern governors cannot campaign because of poor performance, Kwankwaso says

Rabiu Kwankwaso has warned political parties not to assume that control of more than 30 governorships will secure victory in Nigeria’s 2027 general election.

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The sitting president lost the election. I’m giving you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That is a very big mistake.

Speaking at a National Democratic Congress town hall meeting in Rivers State, the party’s vice-presidential candidate said many governors, particularly in the North, had performed so poorly that they would find it difficult to campaign publicly for their parties.

“The sitting president lost the election. I’m giving you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That is a very big mistake,” Kwankwaso said. He did not identify the election he was referring to in the excerpt, but urged politicians not to repeat what he called a major political error.

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By the grace of God, all of them, especially the ones in the North, because I studied the trend. The trend is those governors and their party have performed woefully to the extent that it is very difficult for them even to come out and campaign.

Kwankwaso also criticized how state and federal governments manage public funds. Recalling his experience as governor in 1999, he said states and local governments received about 4 billion naira each at the time. He alleged that government revenue had since risen sharply without producing a comparable improvement in Nigerians’ lives.

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Now in one year, we have seen it on social media that our government collected over N1.11tn, just less than one year. You go around, what have you done with that money? Close to nothing.

“Now in one year, we have seen it on social media that our government collected over N1.11tn, just less than one year. You go around, what have you done with that money? Close to nothing,” he said. He added that the alleged poor performance had increased public anger, while insecurity remained a serious concern, especially in northern Nigeria. “And people are very angry. And this anger is bad, and worse is the issue of insecurity, especially in northern Nigeria,” he said.

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And people are very angry. And this anger is bad, and worse is the issue of insecurity, especially in northern Nigeria.