The political trajectory of Kano State has just been altered, YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine can confirm.
The State which has been in the firm grip of All Progressive Congress’ Abdullahi Ganduje for eight years now has just been lost to New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, led by Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Kwankwaso, a presidential candidate in the last election where he came fourth, was a two-term former governor of Kano State and one time minister of Defence. As a matter of fact, Ganduje was his deputy while in office. But after succeeding him eight years ago, both of them fell apart, leading to a bitter political rivalry.
The duo had been warring until hours ago when Kwankwaso, through his Kwankwasiya movement, reclaimed Kano with the announcement of their governorship candidate, Abba Kabir, as the winner of the Saturday, March 18, 2023 governorship election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The NNPP candidate polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat the candidate of Ganduje and All Progressive Congress (APC), Nasiru Gawuna, who got 890,705 votes. The NNPP candidate coasted home with a surplus of 128,897 votes.
The candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Muhammad Abacha, got 15,957 votes while that of the Labour Party, Ishaq Bashir, scored 5,409 votes.
The returning officer, Ahmad Doko, thus declared Kabir winner of the keenly contested election on Monday morning.
With the victory of NNPP candidate, what it means therefore is that Kwankwaso is now in charge, having reclaimed the leadership of the State via Abba Kabir.