2015: Buhari, Gov Kwankwaso’s Supporters Clash

The battle for the presidential ticket of the All
Progressive Congress (APC) is creating tension in
Kano State where the supporters of Governor
Rabiu Kwankwaso and those of former Head of
State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, have
clashed.


The state House of Assembly, dominated by the
APC, has broken into two camps, each supporting
Kwankwaso and Buhari.
The governor and former Head of State are
leading contenders for the APC presidential ticket.
Some members of the assembly, under the aegis
of G34, had, late last week, endorsed Kwankwaso
for the APC presidential ticket.
But signs that all was not well in the parliament
emerged, yesterday, when a member of the group,
Yusuf Abdullahi Atta, dissociated himself and
some of his other colleagues from the
endorsement, declaring support for Buhari.
Kano State Deputy Majority leader, Yusuf
Suleiman Babangida, who disclosed the G 34
endorsement of the state governor, on Thursday,
declared that the current security situation in the
country requires a man with courageous
disposition of Kwankwaso to handle. ‘’The
security of state and it’s citizens which is the
first obligation that the law of the land places
upon leadership is deteriorating at all levels due
to the collapse of the centre”, the lawmaker said.
Babangida, who played a prominent role in the
election that brought Kwankwaso to power in
2011, stated, “We the lawmakers in Kano House
of Assembly, 34 of us precisely, hereby propose
our leader, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, for the
office of the President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria”.
Babangida noted that his group’s conviction
emanated from the fact that “Kwankwaso is
eligible to occupy the office of the President,’’
saying, ‘’We therefore consider this aspiration as
the taste of every progressive mind who has
concerns over the state of the nation. “
In a sudden twist, yesterday, Atta, representing
Fagge local government in the assembly,
distanced himself and some of Buhari’s loyalists
during a popular radio political programme
“Kowane Gauta”.
The lawmaker, during the political programme
aired by a private station declared that
Babangida’s statement did not enjoy his support
and urged Buhari loyalists to remain calm.
‘’For now, Kano has no candidate other than Gen.
Buhari for presidency by 2015; anything short of
this popular arrangements remain a deceit”, he
said.
Atta, during the pay per second radio political
programme, whose listeners cut across seven
states in the North-west, affirmed that Kano
would only consider any other option outside
Buhari except he stepped down his ambition.
Buhari and Kwankwaso have large but disciplined
and fanatical supporters in the state who are
emotional about the 2015 presidential dream of
their principals.




www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/2015-buhari-gov-kwankwasos-supporters-clash/