The essence of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, meeting separately with former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, in Paris, on Monday, May 15.
Politics Nigeria had earlier reported that Tinubu met with Kwankwaso where he extended a hand of friendship with a view to working together when he assumes office on May 29.
However, credible sources told Daily Trust that it was a tripartite meeting in the French capital as besides the one between Tinubu and Kwankwaso, another one was held between the president-elect and Sanusi and then another one between Kwankwaso and the former emir.
“The three separate meetings were meant to strengthen ties. The president-elect seriously needs the support of the two leading personalities from Kano,” one of our sources said.
“While Kwankwaso is a politician in his own right who has a large followership not only in Kano but across the North, the former emir is a technocrat who knows the economy very well as evident in how he handled the Central Bank of Nigeria,” another source said.
The first meeting
According to sources, Tinubu and Kwankwaso met for hours in Paris, capital of France.
The former Lagos governor reportedly told Kwankwaso to reach out to his political associates on the need to work together.
The incoming president and his guest were said to have agreed to hold subsequent meetings.
But beyond that, it was gathered that the president-elect had offered a ministerial position to Kwankwaso.
“He told the NNPP leader to choose between the ministry of agriculture and that of education,” one of our sources said.
It is not clear whether Kwankwaso will accept to serve as a minister in the event they sealed the partnership or he will give the slot to one of his loyalists.
“The meeting was attended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila. Kwankwaso was accompanied to the meeting by member-elect from Kano, Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin,” the source said.
“Sen Oluremi Tinubu was also there to receive Kwankwaso’s wife, Hajia Salamatu who came with her husband. Discussions were centred around their long term friendship since their days in the National Assembly in 1992, national unity and development, priorities for the new government, National Assembly contests and the plan by the president-elect for a government of national unity, which Kwankwaso has in principle accepted to join.”
The source said Tinubu also hinted at reconciling Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano and Kwankwaso. Ganduje had succeeded Kwankwaso in 2015, but the duo fell apart shortly after.
It was gathered that despite losing Kano in the presidential election to Kwankwaso, Tinubu believed the votes he got from the state and the North West played a key role in his emergence as president and working hard to maintain a positive disposition in the region.
The North West gave Tinubu 2, 652, 235 votes, which is over 30 per cent of the total votes he garnered across the country.
There were no details of what Kwankwaso and Emir Sanusi discussed but a source said they met for two hours and the discussion may not be unconnected with the recent political developments in Kano.
