The Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the 2023 elections and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has accused some “self-proclaimed Northern stakeholders and elders of meddling in the process of selection and fielding of candidates during Presidential election.
Kwankwaso, a former Governor of Kano State, alleged in an interview with BBC Hausa, that the interference and influence is undermining democracy and causing disunity among people, leading to electing incompetent candidates during elections.
He emphasised that the region’s leaders should draw lessons from the experiences of past elections and refrain from influencing the process of fielding candidates.
“This wicked practice they’re doing is causing discord among people. It is important to always have good intentions in whatever you do. It is unfortunate that these elders—some of whom are our parents—are being driven by selfish motives in fielding candidates.
“They often connive to fabricate falsehood, gather people and tell them that these are the candidates the region endorses, when in reality the decision was taken by just two or three persons. Instead of going to Port Harcourt or Abuja to promote our interests (we who are their children), they rather follow the dictate of their selfish minds.”
Citing 2019 general elections where the Northwest produced seven candidates, Kwankwaso said, “We have all manner of people — former Governors, former Ministers, tall, short — but in the end they did what suited them without considering our interests.”