Lagos APC Downplays Kwankwaso’s Defection To ADC, Says It’s Overhyped Political Stunt

By Olumuyiwa Olumuyiwa

Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has downplayed the defection of former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, stressing that it’s a decision driven by personal ambition rather than national interest.

The party added that Kwankwaso’s vaunted political influence has been witnessing gradual but certain decline over the years citing the instance of his relationship with the incumbent Kano governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, which has become frosty.

It further stated that many key stakeholders in the former governor’s influential grassroots movement known as kwankwassiya are no longer in good terms with Kwankwaso.

According to a statement issued by the Lagos APC spokesperson, Hon. Seye Oladejo, the defection of Kwankwaso shouldn’t be exaggerated as a major political development that will generate seismic waves across the national political space.

The statement noted that the move was not prompted by ideological alignment but rather by calculated exercise in self-aggrandizement.

The statement reads: “While some are eager to portray this move as a seismic political realignment, a closer examination reveals a narrative driven more by ego than by principle.

“Senator Kwankwaso has long publicly declared that any defection on his part must guarantee him a Presidential or Vice Presidential ticket.

“This defection, therefore, is less a genuine commitment to national interest or ideological alignment, and more a calculated exercise in self-aggrandizement. It is a political transaction designed to satisfy personal ambition, not to advance meaningful governance or serve the Nigerian people.

“Moreover, the vaunted Kwankwasiyya movement, often presented as a formidable grassroots force, has long been in tatters. Its abandonment by key stakeholders, including the Kano State Governor and other prominent leaders, laid bare its internal weakness and declining relevance.

“A leader whose so-called movement cannot retain its core supporters is hardly the national game-changer some would have Nigerians believe.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that Senator Kwankwaso’s political influence has been overstated. What is being sold as a strategic realignment is, in reality, an ego-driven, opportunistic maneuver.

“It is a reminder that political prominence is not measured by name recognition or past office, but by the ability to sustain alliances, inspire trust, and deliver results.”