…says no presidential bid declared, as ally predicts Monday move to new party
By Achile Danjuma
Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has categorically denied that any final decision has been made regarding his political future, even as a close ally told reporters that he and fellow opposition leader Peter Obi plan to defect from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Monday.
In a statement issued in the late hours of Saturday, the former governor and 2023 presidential candidate acknowledged “wide-ranging consultations” with leaders from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and others to explore options for protecting their democratic interests.
The clarification comes after Buba Galadima, a key Kwankwaso ally, disclosed to newsmen on Saturday, May 2, 2026, that both Kwankwaso and Obi would leave the ADC for a new political platform on Monday.
Kwankwaso cited multiple legal challenges facing the ADC, including a recent Federal High Court ruling that “delegitimised the party’s recent convention” and an application by the Attorney General of the Federation to deregister the party.
“We left the NNPP due to externally influenced legal problems that made our stay perilous,” Kwankwaso said. “The ADC has now been also forced into this difficulty.”
Regarding presidential ambitions, Kwankwaso noted that the ADC has yet to zone its presidential ticket or take any decision on a candidate. “I have therefore neither declared any intention to run for president nor endorsed any aspirant,” he stated.
His absence from two recent ADC stakeholders’ meetings, he said, was due to “unavoidable personal commitments” for which he had apologised to party leadership.
A definitive position on his political direction will be announced “in the soonest possible time,” he added.