The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the 2023 elections, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has declared that his party is open to joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) but only on what he described as “strong promises.”

Kwankwaso stated this while receiving Buhari Bakwana, a former political adviser to ex-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, alongside APC members drawn from the 44 local government areas of Kano State, at his Miller Road residence in Kano.

He reminded the visitors that he and other key figures played a central role in founding the APC in 2013, noting that they bore the brunt of political persecution in the process.

“Nobody in the country will tell me the burden we took in creating APC. We were the ones who led the creation of the party, and we were the first set of seven governors to declare support for it. ICPC, EFCC, and the police were all used against me then, just to stop our plans,” he said.

The NNPP leader said any discussion of a merger or return to APC must spell out tangible benefits for his party. “If you are asking us to join APC, you must tell us what NNPP will gain. We have gubernatorial candidates in all the states and full structures nationwide. What will you offer them if we join?” he queried.

Kwankwaso, who also recalled the frustrations of past alliances, accused both APC and PDP of betraying agreements.

“Eight years of APC under the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari gave us nothing, not even appreciation. In PDP, we asked for just a zonal party chairman, but they refused. We left peacefully and today we are strong and have integrity,” he said.

He, however, stressed that the NNPP remained willing to engage in fresh negotiations, but warned that it would not accept to be used and dumped.

“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us,” he maintained. (Daily Trust)