Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and immediate past Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has dismissed rumours of Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso’s possible defection to the ruling party, saying he and his supporters would be welcomed “as madmen who returned to their vomit.”
Speaking at an APC stakeholders’ meeting in Kano on Thursday — his first since leaving office — Ganduje said Kwankwaso lacked the consistency to rejoin APC after years of ridicule and opposition.
“We’ve heard the rumours, but we don’t take them seriously. Kwankwaso once said only a madman would join APC, even mocking President Tinubu. Now they want to return. If they come, we’ll welcome them as madmen who swallowed their vomit,” Ganduje said, according to a BBC Hausa report monitored in Kaduna on Saturday.
The former governor added that reconciliation with Kwankwaso and former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau was not impossible, noting their combined experience could help guide the current administration if unity became necessary.
Turning his criticism on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Ganduje described his successor’s administration as “directionless and vindictive,” accusing it of waste, incompetence, and misplaced priorities.
“When I took over, I didn’t waste time probing my predecessor. But Abba Yusuf began with probes—what have they uncovered? They’ve received more money in six months than my government saw in eight years. Yet what have they achieved?” Ganduje queried.
He further likened the current administration to “a government of bandits, clumsy and confused,” claiming they spend recklessly on projects without value for money.
On his removal as APC National Chairman, Ganduje said it was simply a matter of zoning and rotation, stressing that President Tinubu bore no blame.
“Leadership is by God’s will; He gives it to whom He wants,” he stated.
Despite recent defections, Ganduje insisted APC remains the largest political platform in Nigeria.
As of press time, neither Kwankwaso nor Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has responded to Ganduje’s remarks.
