The All Progressives Congress (APC) has officially opened its doors to Rabiu Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria’s People Party (NNPP), inviting him to rejoin the ruling party and work alongside President Bola Tinubu. This statement was made by the APC’s publicity secretary, Felix Morka, amid rising speculation that Kwankwaso might defect to the APC following the resignation of Umar Ganduje as the party’s national chairman.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Show on Monday, Morka emphasized the inclusiveness of the APC. He said, “He is a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Anyone who wishes to join APC may join APC, and this is not exclusive to Kwankwaso. As a matter of procedure, our doors are open; we welcome those who want to join our party, who want to work with us, who want to work with the president to achieve the objectives he’s set for his administration.”
Morka further described Kwankwaso as “an elite” and “one of Nigeria’s eminent citizens,” highlighting his freedom to make political decisions independently. “If tomorrow, Kwankwaso decides to join APC, we will deal with that as we have responded to others who have made such requests, whether they are governors, members of the National Assembly or regular citizens. The process is the same. We celebrate those who come into our party, and we are hoping to grow even larger than we are already,” he added.
Kwankwaso’s political journey has seen several shifts. In 2013, while serving as governor of Kano State, he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, motivated by a desire to bring democratic change to Nigeria. However, in 2018, he and 13 other APC senators crossed over to the PDP. In 2022, he joined the NNPP ahead of the 2023 general election, where he secured fourth place with over 1.4 million votes.
This development signals a potential realignment in Nigerian politics, with APC positioning itself as a broad-based party ready to welcome diverse political actors.
