By Ismail Auwal
The Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Sen. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has arrived Kano ahead of Saturday’s general elections, after touring over 500 local governments out of 774 in the 36 states and Abuja.
Accompanied by the NNPP gubernatorial candidate, Engr. Abba K. Yusuf, his deputy Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, and all the three Senatorial candidates of the party in Kano state, Kwankwaso stormed Kano via Kaduna where he completed his rally yesterday.
Members of the NNPP in their hundreds of thousands and well-wishers of the former Kano state governor were sighted chanting and drumming their supports to the party candidates.
Kwankwaso is the second Kano citizen to secure a presidential ticket of a major political party after Malam Aminu Kano in the history of Nigerian politics. This gives an advantage to the party with hope that Kwankwaso could emerge the first Kano man to serve Nigeria as the democratically elected president.
Prior to today’s visit, the police in Kano had advised that all political parties to suspend their rallies to avoid clash, but in a letter sent to the new Commissioner of Police, the NNPP said it is not staging a rally but rather receiving its Presidential candidate who would be in Kano to join other Nigerians in exercising their civic rights on Saturday 25th of February, 2023.
A statement signed by the Chief Spokesperson of the NNPP Campaign Council, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, said a peaceful atmosphere for the conduct of free, fair and credible 2023 general elections is our utmost concern and so, the party’s supporter will abide by the police security advises that are not motivated by the ruling party.
Sanusi said: “We have thwarted the APC scheme to deny our members, supporters and stakeholders their fundamental freedom of political association as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We welcome the development from the joint security operation of the army, police and civil defence personnel who have arrested over 300 political thugs assigned to orchestrate attack on the motorcade of our presidential candidate.
“We learned that two serving Local Government chairmen were also arrested in connection to the illegal possession of firearms. A notorious gang leader of APC thugs who has been known as the ruling party’s hit-man in now in the custody of police.
“We urged the police to ensure that all the political criminals and thugs arrested are brought to book to face the full wrath of the law,” Sanusi pleaded.
