The presidential running mate to Peter Obi of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, on Monday urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to replace Vice-President Kashim Shettima as his running mate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying the move would align with the president’s reputation for promoting religious balance.
Kwankwaso, however, maintained that even such a move would not be enough to stop the Peter Obi-Kwankwaso ticket, insisting that opinion polls across the North and South of the country already show the opposition alliance heading for victory.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Kwankwaso said the Tinubu administration still had time before the substitution deadline to correct what he described as the imbalance of retaining a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
“I’m even surprised that the President again is presenting the same type of ticket,” he said.
“I know him. He’s always somebody who wants to balance things. If you look at Lagos, it’s always balancing. Even in his home, the ticket is balanced.
“I don’t know why the ticket in Nigeria is not balanced, but I believe he still has time, from now to the time of substitution, to have a balanced ticket,” Kwanwkaso said in an undisguised urge on the president to replace Vice-President Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Kwankwaso stressed that while there was nothing inherently wrong with candidates of the same faith running together, fairness and inclusion remained critical in a diverse country like Nigeria.
Recalling his own presidential bid in 2023, he said he deliberately chose an Archbishop as his running mate to foster national inclusion.
“Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong in a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket. But fairness is always good,” he said.
Despite his advice to the President, Kwankwaso said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would still struggle to overcome the combined electoral strength of the NDC ticket.
He described the alliance between Peter Obi’s Obidient Movement and the Kwankwasiyya Movement as a formidable political force capable of reshaping Nigeria’s electoral landscape.
“In the last election, Peter Obi contested and got over two million votes in Northern Nigeria. By whatever standard, two million is a huge number,” he said.
“He’s very formidable, he’s very strong, and the people who voted for him that time are still around.”
According to him, the merger of the Obidient and Kwankwasiyya movements would produce unexpected electoral gains, particularly among young Nigerians.
“Our combination, Obidience and Kwankwasiyya, will bring a lot of surprises, especially from the young men and women who are not worried about some of the sentiments some people are trying to paint.”
Kwankwaso said Nigeria’s youthful population was increasingly focused on competence, jobs, security and improved living conditions rather than ethnic or religious considerations.
“The average age of Nigerians is about 20 years. These young men and women know exactly what they want. They want a way out. People are tired of the situation they are in now. They want something new that can improve security and the welfare of the people.”
He dismissed critics of the opposition ticket as politicians who had lost touch with realities across Northern Nigeria.
“Those who are speaking against this ticket are not even conversant; they are not in touch with the realities in Northern Nigeria today,” he said.
On reports linking him to extremist groups and suggestions that the United States had labelled him a Fulani extremist, Kwankwaso dismissed the claims as baseless.
“I have no assets anywhere outside Nigeria, so there is nothing to freeze,” he said.
“We have enemies. Everybody has enemies. People decided to send my name here and there, but realities have prevailed. That issue is gone.”
Asked about legal challenges facing the NDC ahead of the 2027 election, Kwankwaso expressed confidence that the courts would not bar the party from participating.
“I don’t think any respected judge would be in a hurry to say NDC should not participate in the 2027 election,” he said.
On the prospects of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket defeating the NDC alliance, Kwankwaso said available opinion polls gave the opposition every reason to be optimistic.
“I don’t think, with the figures that we have on the ground, especially those who are doing opinion polls in the North and South, anyone would contemplate otherwise.
“We are confident that at the end of the day, this ticket is the one that young men and women across this country, and indeed the general public, are supporting.”
