Political Tension Rises!” – Kwankwaso Warns INEC Against Forcing Single Candidacy

Kwankwaso made this known in a post shared on his verified account on Thursday, stressing that Nigerians must retain the freedom to choose their leaders across different political platforms.

He noted that he joined leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other pro-democracy figures at a world press conference where they strongly criticised what they described as INEC’s open partisanship.

According to him, the collective position of the gathering is that Nigerians must be allowed to freely elect their leaders from a wide range of political parties in 2027. He insisted that the electoral body has no right to enforce a single candidacy in what he described as Africa’s largest democracy.

Meanwhile, a former aide to ex-Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Salihu Yakasai, claimed that Kwankwaso’s reported defection to the ADC has unsettled both state and national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking during an interview, Yakasai said the impact of the move is already being felt, noting that it has shifted the political narrative. He added that recent engagements, including meetings involving Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and various political stakeholders, suggest growing concern among key actors over the development.