Former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau has stated that the political differences between him and former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso were shaped by circumstances beyond their control.
Speaking via a viral interview with an online media platform, Shekarau clarified that neither of them was responsible for past political differences.
He recalled how Kwankwaso, as Kano’s governor, joined other governors from Sokoto, Adamawa, Rivers and a few states in defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, he noted that the APC interim leadership, comprising Bisi Akande, Muhammadu Buhari, and Bola Tinubu, failed to ensure fairness in party structuring.
He said, “Honestly, I believe that Kwankwaso and I have no issue sitting together under one roof. In everything that happened, neither he nor I was at fault.
“In Kano, the ANPP formed 80 per cent of the APC structure, yet because he was a sitting governor, they allocated him 60 per cent of the party leadership, which we questioned as an injustice.”
Using an analogy, he likened the situation to disrespecting one’s parents in their home, only to later demand a choice of rooms in a newly built house by others. “It doesn’t work like that. That’s why we refused to be part of such injustice,” he said.
He also cited a similar experience within the PDP, stressing that Kwankwaso was not to blame there either, as the party leadership made the decisions. According to him, the same issue of injustice arose in the NNPP, where an agreed power-sharing formula was later disregarded.
“Even now, Kwankwaso and I still sit down and discuss issues. We have never said we won’t unite under one umbrella. Everything is in God’s hands. Twenty years ago, if someone had told you I would be governor, you would have sworn it was impossible—the same goes for him,” Shekarau noted.
