Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso said his party would stay on the 2027 ballot rather than back the African Democratic Congress (ADC), complicating six-party talks, BusinessDay reported.
In a statement on Sunday, Kwankwaso said the NDC would stay in the contest. “We will not withdraw our candidature for the ADC or any other party,” he said. BusinessDay reported that he also rejected suggestions the ticket was acting for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Kwankwaso said the APC-led government had failed Nigerians and the ADC offered no better alternative. He also criticized the ADC’s campaign team for what he described as attacks on him, Peter Obi and the NDC, saying it should focus on presenting its own candidate to voters, BusinessDay reported. Kwankwaso, a former Kano governor, is on a joint ticket with Obi, the outlet reported.
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council accused Kwankwaso of helping President Bola Tinubu politically by directing criticism at Atiku Abubakar rather than the government’s handling of economic hardship and insecurity, BusinessDay reported.
Former APC national vice-chairman (North-West) Salihu Lukman said six opposition parties were consulting about a consensus presidential nominee. BusinessDay identified them as the NDC and ADC, along with the Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Labour Party and Allied Peoples Movement.
The NDC has also been part of a separate dispute over APGA’s planned support for Tinubu, centered on southeastern voters’ role in the 2027 race.
BusinessDay reported that the parties have continued to defend their candidates and question one another’s ability to offer voters an alternative to the APC-led government. Lukman said the discussions could produce a shared nominee before the Jan. 16 presidential election, the outlet reported.
