NDC Breaks Silence on Kwankwaso’s Rumoured Exit Threat over Kano Crisis

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has officially dismissed widespread reports claiming that its vice-presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is threatening to dump the party over internal disputes in Kano State.

The national leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has cleared the air over the rumoured exit of former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, describing the reports as baseless and the handiwork of political detractors.

The clarification was made by the party's National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, during a televised interview on Tuesday. Addressing the speculation, Director acknowledged that there were internal disagreements regarding candidate selections in Kano but firmly denied that Kwankwaso had issued any threat to leave the opposition coalition.

"The truth is that there is no truth in the statements that His Excellency Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is threatening to leave the NDC. No, that is far from it," Director stated. He attributed the exit rumours to "media conjectures intensified by those who want to see the NDC collapse."

Speculation of a major rift emerged after the Kano State chapter of the NDC altered its local candidate list to enforce a strict 60/40 power-sharing formula between the newly integrated Kwankwasiyya bloc (which received 60 per cent) and the party's pioneer structure (which retained 40 per cent). The adjustment, which saw some Kwankwasiyya-backed candidates replaced, reportedly triggered tension within the ranks.

However, the NDC spokesperson maintained that such frictions are normal in politics. "In every political organisation or political party, you must have disagreement. We are in the process of sorting out when there are differences, and at the end of the day, we are open and sincere about confronting it with everybody being carried along," he explained.

In a further show of solidarity, Kwankwaso made his first public remarks since the rumours broke, taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday night to highlight his ongoing commitment to the party's 2027 agenda.

"This evening, I hosted a highly productive meeting with the NDC candidates from Kogi State at my residence in Abuja. We had robust deliberations on the way forward and concrete strategies for our collective victory," Kwankwaso shared, effectively downplaying narratives of an impending exit.

Similarly, the Kwankwasiyya Movement has backed the party's position. The movement's spokesman, Habibu Sale Mohammed, characterised the exit reports as "mere rumours," insisting that neither Kwankwaso nor the movement had communicated any grievances to the party hierarchy.

Mohammed added that the party's primaries on May 29 were successfully conducted in line with the Electoral Act and guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with consensus candidates affirmed smoothly.

The NDC has urged its members and supporters to ignore the distractions and remain focused as the party gears up for the 2027 general elections.