Kwankwaso’s meeting with Aregbesola sparks 2027 permutations

The meeting between the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, is generating controversies in the polity. Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun State, at the weekend,  received Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State at his residence […]

The meeting between the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, is generating controversies in the polity.

Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun State, at the weekend,  received Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State at his residence in Lagos.

The politicians met at a time opposition leaders have been weighing options to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 election.

Daily Trust reports that the meeting came a few days after the Omoluabi Progressives, a group of Aregbesola’s loyalists and supporters defected from the APC in Osun. They claimed their defection from APC was due to “ostracisation from the party, suspension and expulsion of leaders without fair hearing, and continuous denigration of the structure.”

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The APC also expelled Aregbesola from the party over alleged anti-party activities. Pundits attribute these to why Aregbesola’s meeting with Kwankwaso has triggered permutations of the possibility of the two politicians working together ahead of 2027.

The development is coming at a time the NNPP is also enmeshed in crises with Kwankwaso allegedly leading one of the factions.

Last week, a faction of the NNPP led by the founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, held a convention in Lagos where new members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were elected.

Kwankwaso confirmed his meeting with Aregbesola in a post. He said, “This evening I had the pleasure to visit the former governor of Osun State and former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, at his residence in Lagos. The meeting afforded us the opportunity to engage in discussions on national politics, governance and the future of Nigeria’s democratic landscape.”

An informed source who spoke with our correspondent in confidence said, “The meeting centered around the two politicians strategising on their future given the issue they both face in their parties. So, I can tell you it is all about the 2027 election.”

Another source in Aregbesola’s camp disclosed that both politicians are weighing various options ahead of 2027 and discussions are still ongoing.

Speaking with our correspondent, Barr Gbenga Akano, an ally of Aregbesola, however, said the meeting was not about Aregbesola joining the NNPP, explaining it was an impromptu meeting. He said Aregbesola would announce his new political direction at the appropriate time.