In a recent development, President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who represented the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the February 25 presidential election, held a four-hour meeting in Paris, France on Monday.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the discussion primarily revolved around Kwankwaso’s potential involvement in the upcoming administration, as Tinubu plans to form a “government of national unity,” which entails allocating certain positions to opposition parties.
The meeting also addressed the issue of electing legislative leaders ahead of the June 13 inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, The Cable reports.
It is worth recalling that our publication previously reported on the All Progressives Congress (APC) zoning the top positions in both chambers. However, some party members have expressed dissatisfaction with the arrangement and have threatened to form an alliance with the opposition to undermine the proposed formula.
While the APC currently holds 59 Senate seats and 175 seats in the House of Representatives, the NNPP has two senators and 19 representatives.
To secure the top two leadership positions in each house, a simple majority of 56 senators and 181 representatives is required.
Insiders revealed that the Paris meeting between Tinubu and Kwankwaso commenced at 12:30 p.m. and concluded at 4:45 p.m. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and presumptive Chief of Staff to the President-elect, was present at the meeting. Abdulmumin Jibrin, an NNPP representative-elect and former leader of a Tinubu campaign organization, accompanied Kwankwaso.
Furthermore, Oluremi Tinubu, senator and wife of the President-elect, received Kwankwaso’s wife, Salamatu.
It is reported that Kwankwaso has expressed a willingness, in principle, to join Tinubu’s government, pending consultations with stakeholders on both sides. Tinubu is expected to provide updates to Kashim Shettima, the Vice President-elect, the APC Governors Forum, and other party leaders, while Kwankwaso will do the same with his party leadership.
During the meeting, Tinubu expressed concerns about the strained relationship between Abdullahi Ganduje, the outgoing governor of Kano State, and Kwankwaso. Tinubu promised to mediate and foster peace between the two politicians. It is worth noting that Ganduje served as Kwankwaso’s deputy during his tenure as Kano governor from 2011 to 2015 before their political paths diverged.
Tinubu secured victory in the presidential election with 8,797,726 votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the PDP by a margin of two million votes. However, analysts believe that Kwankwaso’s 1.5 million votes could have potentially gone to Atiku if the former Kano governor had not defected from the PDP.
This newspaper learnt that Tinubu’s representatives have also been engaging with key figures in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
