A chief of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Sam Nkire, has advised President Bola Tinubu to bring back the former Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to the ruling party, in order to further boost the party’s chances of securing victory in the next presidential election.

Nkire, a pioneer member of the National Caucus of the APC, said that: “Although Tinubu may win in 2027, Kwankwaso’s inclusion in the game plan will just nail the coffin” of the opposition.

In a statement made available to the media in Abuja yesterday, Nkire recalled how he supported Kwankwaso to run for the presidential ticket against Buhari in the APC ‘s presidential primaries of 2014, stressing that the leader of the Kwankwasiya Movement who was the standard bearer of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the 2023 presidential election, remains a formidable force not just in Kano State but across the Northwest geopolitical zone.

“President Tinubu should not have a problem reaching an agreement with Kwankwaso, being long-time friends and knowing the reason why Kwankwaso left the APC, in the first place,” he said.

The elder statesman also recalled the many times he, in company of Kwankwaso, had visited the then National Leader of the APC, Tinubu in 2014, seeking his support for Kwankwaso against the candidacy of Buhari; a request to which Tinubu repeatedly said: “I’m sorry; I have given my word to General Buhari.”

On Kwankwaso’s conditions for re-joining or merging with the APC, Nkire said he believed in President Tinubu’s ability to deal and negotiate either in business or political matters, adding that:

“This deal sailing through will strengthen my belief that the next President will be a product of either a merger, a coalition or a collaboration,” with the APC playing the leading role.