The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, yesterday said Rabiu Kwankwaso should be grateful to the main opposition party for contributing “significantly to his political success”.

Speaking to the BBC Hausa Service during the week, Kwankwaso, who represented the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in last year’s presidential poll, said he had found peace and a sense of relief from the “humiliation” endured in the PDP since dumping the party for the NNPP.

The former Kano State governor defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 and came back in 2018.

He again left the PDP for the NNPP in 2022. Damagum, who also spoke to the same radio station, said Kwankwaso cannot achieve any political success outside PDP.

The PDP chief said: “It (PDP) nurtured him (Kwankwaso) and contributed significantly to his political success.

“We still hold hope that he might return to the party and contribute to its rejuvenation, so we can collectively address the injustices of the current government.

“Every member has the right to express his opinion. But let me remind him (Kwankwaso) that when he left the party in 2015, despite the challenges we faced then, the PDP was not ‘dead.’

“If the party could survive his exit then, why would anyone think it is irrelevant now?”

Damagum further said: “For over two decades, the PDP has remained steadfast, maintaining its identity and producing governors and lawmakers in every part of the country.

“Even if four parties merged without the PDP, they cannot win an election. We have seen this played out repeatedly. Where are those parties now? Even their alliances with other parties have not delivered the desired results.”

The chairman also addressed some of the grievances raised by Kwankwaso, admitting that some of the claims were valid. He said:

“As the Deputy National Chairman (North) at the time, my powers were limited, but we tried to resolve the issues. “Unfortunately, those efforts fell short. He himself acknowledged this in previous interviews.”