Nigerian president’s rivals get major boost as political heavyweight joins fold

The coalition poised to challenge Nigeria’s president in next year’s election has received a major boost after prominent opposition figure Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso announced that he was joining. Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano state, said on Monday he was now part of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) – a day after resigning from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). A number of opposition heavyweights have joined the emerging ADC coalition in an effort to unseat President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC), which has been in power since 2015.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and ex-state governor Peter Obi, two of Tinubu’s biggest rivals, have become the face of the ADC. Kwankwaso ran for president in 2023, finishing fourth. Abubakar and Obi came second and third respectively.

However, with so many big names joining the ADC, the major question facing the party is who will be its presidential candidate – an issue that could potentially lead to splits. On Sunday, Kwankwaso announced he was not only stepping down as the NNPP’s leader, but leaving the party altogether as “the current trajectory of the nation’s political landscape” calls for “strategic realignment”. “I have found it necessary to identify with another political platform that offers the best opportunity to effectively change the nation,” he said in a statement.

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Accompanying video footage showed hundreds of people, many wearing red caps, celebrating at a political rally. A huge poster bears Kwankwaso’s face, along with the words “welcome to ADC”.

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