Kwankwaso regrets not allying with Peter Obi in 2023 and pledges education ministry role for 2027

Rabiu Kwankwaso, the vice‑presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), addressed supporters at the 360 Event Centre in Dutse, Jigawa State, on Saturday. Speaking to a crowd that cheered his remarks, Kwankwaso expressed regret over his decision not to form an alliance with Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi during the 2023 general election. He said that a united ticket would have given the opposition a better chance of defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) incumbent, Bola Tinubu.

Kwankwaso explained that at the time he believed his political experience and academic credentials, including a PhD, made him a stronger candidate than Obi. He ran under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and finished fourth, winning only Kano State with 1,496,687 votes. Obi, running on the Labour Party platform, placed third with 6,101,533 votes across twelve states and the Federal Capital Territory. Tinubu won the presidency with 8,794,726 votes, aided by the split opposition vote.

Background

In the February 2023 presidential election, the opposition fielded three major candidates: Tinubu for the APC, Obi for the Labour Party, and Kwankwaso for the NNPP. The division of votes among the three allowed Tinubu to secure the presidency. Kwankwaso’s campaign was nationwide but his support remained concentrated in the north‑west, particularly Kano State where he garnered 997,279 votes, nearly two‑thirds of his national total. Obi’s campaign broke traditional regional patterns by winning in the south‑east, parts of the south‑south, and several northern states including Plateau, Nasarawa and Lagos, as well as the capital, Abuja.

During the recent event in Jigawa, Kwankwaso announced a new partnership with Obi for the upcoming 2027 election. He said the NDC leadership had agreed that, should they win, he would be appointed Minister of Education. Kwankwaso cited his record as former governor of Kano State, noting that he had sponsored over 3,000 Kano indigenes for foreign scholarships without resorting to commercial loans or contractor debt, attributing the achievement to anti‑corruption measures.

Why it matters

The opposition’s potential reunification could reshape Nigeria’s electoral dynamics by consolidating votes that were previously split among multiple candidates. If Kwankwaso and Obi present a joint ticket in 2027, the combined vote share they achieved in 2023—approximately 7.6 million votes—could challenge the APC’s dominance. The education portfolio promised to Kwankwaso signals a focus on reforming public schooling, expanding access for under‑privileged children, renovating schools, recruiting qualified teachers and providing modern instructional materials. Such policy priorities could affect millions of Nigerian students and influence public perception of the opposition’s governance capabilities.

What happens next

Kwankwaso indicated that the alliance with Obi is already in place and that discussions on the 2027 campaign strategy are ongoing. He did not provide a specific timeline for the formal announcement of the joint ticket or the detailed education reform blueprint, but implied that the partnership would be a central feature of the NDC’s campaign going forward. The next major electoral milestone will be the 2027 presidential election, where the opposition’s ability to present a united front will be tested against the incumbent APC.