A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has countered Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s recent comment regarding the distribution of projects across the country.
Nabena declared that no ethnic, religious, or regional sentiment played up by Kwankwaso against the Southern presidency can hold water, adding that right years of a southerner in the seat of power is sacrosanct.
Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), had recently faulted the Federal Government on the distribution of projects, alleging that the South is being favoured against the North.
According to the Kwankwasiyya’s leader, road networks in the North have remained in poor condition, while infrastructural investments have been more concentrated in the South.
Responding to Kwankwaso’s assertion through a statement released on Tuesday in Abuja, Nabena said the former governor’s real intention was to incite the North against the current administration and the re-election of a southerner in 2027.
The APC chieftain said such incitement for “a political business or negotiation, like some politicians did in 2019 and 2023, can no longer work because the people now know the real intention. The Kano voters now know who is using them for political business, and even the political gladiators now understand the tactics of political merchants”.
The Bayelsa-born politician, however, challenged Kwankwaso to travel across the South-South states by road and compare “the road networks in the oil-rich region, where the major is coming from” to that of the Northern region.
He said, “Is the north inferior or superior to the south after eight years of the north at the helm of affairs of Nigeria? Why is Senator Kwankwaso still complaining of underdevelopment in the North when the region just completed its 8 years? One will also wonder which of the northern money or resources was used to develop the South. Is it the Gold, Rice, or Groundnut pyramid?
“As politicians, we all understand what the former governor is up to. He is working hard to incite the North against the Southern presidency, but that has failed woefully because the South must complete the 8 years in the presidency for fairness and equity.”
The former APC spokesman further declared that Kwankwaso cannot and does not have the capacity to intimidate the South ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“You cannot intimidate the South or anybody with Kano votes any longer because as politicians, we all know the game and what you are up to. The era of playing religious or ethnic cards is fast becoming unfashionable,” Nabena warned.
