Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - Rabiu Kwankwaso, Former Kano State Governor, on Monday held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the president’s official residence.
The meeting followed Kwankwaso’s appearance at the opening
of the Nigeria Forest Economy Summit 2025 held at the State House Conference
Centre, Abuja.
It is the second publicly known encounter between the two
men in just over two years.
Their last recorded meeting in the Aso Rock Villa took place
on June 9, 2023, days after Tinubu’s inauguration, making Kwankwaso the first
presidential candidate to visit the President.
Addressing State House correspondents at the time, Kwankwaso
said he discussed politics and governance with the president.
He also said he might work with Tinubu, but did not state
the details.
Although Monday’s meeting was not open to the press, the
visit came only weeks after the opposition African Democratic Congress
announced a broad-based coalition aimed at challenging the ruling All
Progressives Congress in the 2027 elections.
Kwankwaso, 67, is a veteran northern power-broker and
founder of the “Kwankwasiyya” political movement.
He served two non-consecutive terms as governor of Kano
(1999-2003 and 2011-2015), was defence minister under President Olusegun
Obasanjo and ran for president on the ticket of the New Nigeria Peoples Party
in 2023, finishing fourth but clinching an emphatic victory in Kano State.
The NNPP won the governorship and a majority of state
assembly seats, which cemented Kwankwaso’s continued sway over Nigeria’s most
populous northern state.
Although the NNPP is not formally part of the ADC-led
coalition, opposition figures have courted Kwankwaso as they seek to unify
disparate parties ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Presidency sources contacted for this report could not
confirm the details of the discussion between the two men.
One source said the meeting was held at the residence and
was, therefore, off limits for most aides.
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