The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, is set to leave the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) after negotiations between both camps.
The reports said the discussions are at an advanced stage and a final meeting is expected to be held to determine the outcome of the talks.
Kano State Chairman of the ADC, Musa Ungogo, confirmed that discussions were ongoing, insisting that the move was initiated by Gawuna and not the party.
“The story going round that the ADC approached Gawuna is not true. It was Gawuna who came to us. He sent a delegation to meet us, and we have been holding discussions since then,” Ungogo said.
The representatives of Gawuna included former Kumbotso Local Government Chairman, Sagir Fanshekara and Hon.
The delegation met the party leadership and presented several demands, he said.
One of them is a request to adopt Gawuna as the ADC governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
The delegation also looked for political accommodation for some of Gawuna’s loyalists who are interested in State House of Assembly and National Assembly tickets.
Ungogo said Gawuna’s camp proposed a consensus arrangement, where other governorship aspirants would step down for him.
“They came with a number of requests. One of their main demands is that Dr Gawuna should be the governorship candidate of the party. They also asked for chances for some of their sympathizers who are interested in tickets for the state assembly and National Assembly,” he said.
“They told us that even if the party decides to conduct primary elections, aspirants should step down for him because, according to them, he has political strength in several local government areas and has the capacity to lead the party to victory.
“They specifically asked for a consensus arrangement and asked that the other aspirants support him.”
The ADC chairman added that the party would take a decision after receiving a formal written submission on all the demands.
“We asked them to give us a written document with all their requests in it. They were also asked to specify the positions they are seeking and the local government areas where they have interests.
“We are due to have another meeting today. “We will study the document carefully after we receive it and we will make our position known,” he said.
Ungogo said no agreement had been reached despite ongoing talks.
“Consultations are ongoing. Nothing has been decided yet. “We want a solution that will be acceptable to all stakeholders and beneficial to the party,” he said.
A close associate of Gawuna also confirmed that consultations were going on but did not give further details.
“I am not his spokesman and I am not authorised to speak on the matter. “The consultations are ongoing,” the source said.
The latest development comes months after Gawuna exited the APC and subsequently joined the NDC alongside Rabiu Kwankwaso and members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
On his joining the NDC, Gawuna took the Kano Central senatorial ticket, while the party settled for Aminu Gwarzo as its consensus governorship candidate.
