Tinubu: Kwankwaso’s NNPP Is Mere Media Hype – APC

The Deputy Coordinator North-West of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Salihu Lukman has said the Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso led New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) pose no threat to the ruling party in the North-West.

Speaking on Friday, Lukman, who is equally Vice Chairman North-West of the APC, said the NNPP is a mere media hype and not yet a political institution that can threaten APC’s stronghold.

Naija News reports that Lukman stated this in Kaduna while receiving briefings from the various APC support groups on their level of preparation for the flag-off of the presidential campaign rallies in the North-West, slated for next Tuesday.

According to the APC vice chairman, the zone remains the backbone and the strongest-hold of the ruling APC.

He said the NNPP is yet to become a political institution, adding that talks about Kwankwaso’s party is mere media hype.

Lukman said: “We have put arrangements in place as parts of preparations for the 2023 elections. We have been meeting with many of the support groups. They have been briefing us in terms of efforts they are making to mobilize electorate. Now, with the presidential campaign rally scheduled to take place in Kaduna on the 13th December, we thought we needed to also factor that in and see how all the mobilization efforts can be coordinated and all the groups would be part of the rally. So, we met this have to review the progress so far made and set target in terms of people to be mobilized. We have seven groups here, we are meeting others later, and they would be going back to see how to meet the target they set for themselves.

“In terms of mobilization, the North-West is going to demonstrate that, it is the backbone of the APC and APC is still the dominant party in the North-West. Each is already working round the clock to show that, we are the backbone. So, in terms of mobilization, we expect to get more votes from North-West than our outings in the 2015 and 2019 elections. That is our target.”

Speaking on Kwankwaso’s NNPP, Lukman said, “beyond speculations, we are on ground in North-West. If you go to Kano, you will discover that, Kano people are not dealing individuals, they deal with political institutions. NNPP is yet to become a political institution and I have said it over and over again that, all the talk about NNPP is mere media hype.

“In Kaduna here, you don’t even hear of the NNPP governorship candidate. Go to Zamfara, the NNPP collapsed their whole structure into the APC. And we are not speculating, this is a straight-forward thing and it is a practical issue. 2023 election is a matter of days, we shall meet on the ballot.”