Kwankwaso explained that the coalition’s power-sharing understanding was founded on mutual trust among its members and an agreement on how political power should be rotated.

He argued that the arrangement would allow the southern part of the country to complete what the coalition considers an eight-year presidential cycle before power shifts.

“We believe the southern part of the country should complete its second term and, with that, and to the hearing of everybody in this country, I don’t believe any gentleman would want to renege, would want to say no or change his or her mind,” he stated.

Kwankwaso maintained that Obi’s one-term commitment was not merely a personal declaration but formed part of the broader understanding among members of the political alliance.

The NDC vice-presidential candidate also said the coalition had gone beyond discussions about individuals and political blocs by developing a common governance programme.

According to him, the alliance has drawn up short-, medium- and long-term plans that would guide the administration if the party wins the 2027 presidential election.

“More importantly, we have collectively gotten a short-term, medium-term and, of course, long-term plan for this country. It does not matter whether it is him from the Obidient side, or my humble self from the Kwankwasiyya side or another side, we believe we have an agenda,” he said.

He added that the coalition’s priority was to ensure that subsequent leaders remained committed to the agreed programme irrespective of their political background or support base.

“That agenda, we will as much as possible ensure that whoever comes, maybe Peter, maybe me or any other person, would stick to that programme,” he added.

Kwankwaso stressed that continuity of the coalition’s policies would remain important beyond the tenure of any individual President, insisting that the NDC’s objective was to build a governance framework capable of surviving changes in leadership.

“He remains a committed member of the APC and continues to hold the President and National Leader of the party, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the highest regard as his political mentor,” the statement said.

The former minister also reaffirmed his confidence in the APC leadership and pledged to abide by legitimate decisions taken by the party.

It added, “Chief Adelabu believes in the party, respects its leadership, and remains committed to the democratic process. Given his well-known decency and integrity in politics, he is always prepared to respect the legitimate decisions of the party’s national leadership.”

Adelabu urged members of the public and his supporters to disregard the defection reports, describing them as an attempt to create unnecessary political confusion.

-Source: Politics Nigeria

Party sources said the APC’s Information and Communication Technology team has been handling the uploading process while ensuring that all required documents meet INEC’s specifications.

However, the party is facing challenges with the submission of candidates for State Houses of Assembly.

The source revealed that technical issues affecting the INEC nomination portal have slowed down the process for the assembly candidates.

Despite the setback, the APC expressed optimism that the problem would be resolved quickly.

“Our ICT team has already scanned and prepared the documents for immediate upload once the issues are resolved,” the official said.

The party maintained that preparations were progressing smoothly in most states despite concerns raised by some aspirants and stakeholders following the outcome of various primaries.

Reacting to reports of dissatisfaction among some party members, APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said efforts were ongoing to reconcile aggrieved stakeholders and strengthen unity within the party.

According to him, the APC reconciliation committee has already commenced engagement with affected members.

“As for the disaffection that the emergence of some of these candidates may have caused, the reconciliation committee is working,” Ibrahim said.

“We are hoping that, at the end of the day, all grievances will be resolved. All the aggrieved parties will come together and forge ahead.”

He stressed that the party remained focused on building a united front ahead of the elections.

Ibrahim also urged candidates to remain committed to the APC’s policies and programmes while taking the message of President Bola Tinubu Renewed Hope agenda to voters across the country.

He said party members must work collectively to strengthen the APC’s chances at the polls.

INEC had opened its portal for governorship and State House of Assembly nominations on July 18.

The commission fixed August 8 as the deadline for the submission of candidates’ particulars.

Under the timetable released by the electoral body, personal details of candidates will be published on August 29 to enable public scrutiny.

The deadline for withdrawal and substitution of candidates has been fixed for September 19.

In a related development, the APC recently announced the successful completion of the upload of all its presidential and National Assembly candidates to the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal.

The party described it as a major milestone in its preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The exercise saw the submission of 471 candidates, including the presidential ticket, Senate candidates and House of Representatives aspirants.

APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, hailed the development and commended party officials involved in the process.

“I congratulate our candidates, leaders, and members of APC on the successful 100% upload of our Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP),” he said.

“With this milestone achieved, our focus now shifts to mobilisation and preparations for a successful campaign and decisive victory at the polls.”

The successful upload also confirmed President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima as the APC presidential ticket for the 2027 election.

The development came shortly after INEC extended the deadline for the submission of presidential and National Assembly candidates following appeals from some political parties that were unable to meet the initial deadline.

The APC had criticised opposition parties over the extension, insisting that it had completed its submissions before the original closing date.

Recall that INEC later announced an extension of the deadline after receiving requests from political parties through the Inter-Party Advisory Council.

The electoral commission said the decision was taken to allow parties complete their uploads while ensuring broad participation in the electoral process.

Source: Politics Nigeria