Arewa Presidential Dialogue: Kwankwaso alleges secret endorsement of candidate

By G9ija

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party for the 2023 polls, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has accused some of the organisers of the interaction between the Arewa Joint Committee and presidential candidates of bias.

He levelled the accusation in a letter signed by his campaign spokesperson, Abdulmumin Jibrin, to the organisers.

Several groups, including the Arewa Consultative Forum, Arewa House, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Northern Elders Forum and Arewa Research and Development Project, put the interactive session together.

Kwankwaso, who said he would not be attending the interactive session, where hs is expected to appear on Monday (today), told the organisers that he already planned campaign activities for the day.

He, however, said he was in possession of credible information that some people behind the engagement have been compromised and that the event will be used to “clandestinely endorse” another candidate from Northern Nigeria.

The statement by Jibrin said: “We have credible information in our possession that shows that some people have been compromised and these people have concluded plans to turn the event into an endorsement platform for a particular candidate.

“We believe that it’s very wrong for any group to clandestinely plan to endorse any candidate in the name of the North, especially when we have more than one candidate from our region.”

Kwankwaso further alleged that the event was postponed from its earlier date to coincide with the other candidate’s rally in Kaduna State.

He said: “We note that the earlier date was even postponed and a new date was fixed to coincide with the date of the rally of one of the presidential candidates in Kaduna. This further gives credence to the information in our possesssion that the event is being financed by that candidate.”

Kwankwaso therefore cautioned organisers of the event to desist from endorsing any candidate as it will further polarise the North.

According to the itinerary of the interactive session, Kwankwaso was to address the gathering on Monday, alongside the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu; and Labour Party, Peter Obi.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, had on Saturday addressed the gathering, from where he proceeded to the venues of his campaign in the state.