The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has explained why he chose former Kano State governor and Kwankwasiyya Movement leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
In an interview with The Sun published on Sunday, Obi said the decision was based on their shared commitment to tackling poverty through education, human capital development and economic transformation.
According to the former Anambra State governor, Kwankwaso shares his vision for building a better Nigeria by investing in education and empowering citizens.
“Kwankwaso has the philosophy of pulling people out of poverty.
“I have the same philosophy. Kwankwaso believes in education. You cannot change society without education.
“If you look at my X, formerly Twitter, I made it clear that I will emphasise education. Education is going to change society.
“Nigeria must focus on developing its human capital, which is critical to national development. Kwankwaso believes in this. I do. We have synergy,” Obi said.
Obi also dismissed suggestions of a rift between him and Kwankwaso, insisting they remained united ahead of the January 2027 general election.
“I don’t know why people talk about differences between people who are working together. Have you ever seen us quarrelling?
“People quarrel because of transactional governance. The country is in a mess because of transactional governance. I am not into transactional governance. I am into transformational governance.
“We want to change society and make it better. We want to pull people out of poverty, not the other way around,” he said.
Obi and Kwankwaso finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 2023 presidential election behind President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Obi contested the election on the platform of the Labour Party, while Kwankwaso flew the flag of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The two politicians later joined Atiku in forming an alliance under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2026 before Obi and Kwankwaso subsequently defected to the NDC, citing internal crises and legal disputes within the coalition.
Responding to a question on why they did not form an alliance before the 2023 election, Obi said he was focused on the future rather than dwelling on the past.
“Those who think about yesterday and today will miss tomorrow. The past is gone. We are talking about the present,” he said.
Addressing concerns over managing supporters of both the Obidient Movement and the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Obi said both groups were united by a common goal of transforming the country.
“We do not just have large followers alone. People are gravitating to what is right. How are we going to manage them? We have no problem whatsoever. We want to change society. Our followers want a changed and better society,” he said.
