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President Bola Tinubu has reportedly invited Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general election, after meeting with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano on Monday, January 19.
Recall that Tinubu’s meeting with the governor on Monday was to finalise the defection of Yusuf, and the meeting with the NNPP leader was a last-minute push to bring Kwankwaso to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
It was learnt that the meeting between President Tinubu and Governor Yusuf lasted for about an hour. The meeting was attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the APC national chairman, Professor Yilwatda Nentawe, and Femi Gbajabiamila , the chief of staff to President Tinubu.
Daily Nigerian reported that sources privy to the meeting disclosed that it dwelt more on telling President Tinubu about the terms and conditions of Kwankwaso before joining the APC.
The sources disclosed that Governor Yusuf asked the president to have a meeting with Kwankwaso to further persuade the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement to join the party, as all the governor’s efforts failed.
The source reads:
“Nothing really significant was discussed during the meeting apart from the issue of persuading Kwankwaso to join the APC. The issue of Kwankwaso is what matters to Mr President.”
Speaking on the claim that the governor demanded an automatic ticket for himself and lawmakers in the National and State House of Assembly who were defecting with him, the source said:
“No governor dares look into the president’s eyes and make that demand.”
