By Jude Opara, Abuja
A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Yekini Nabena, has taken a swipe at the 2023 Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, over a recent comment regarding development and distribution of projects across the country.
Nabena in a statement on Tuesday said that no ethnic, religion or regional sentiment played up by Kwankwaso against the Southern presidency could hold a water, insisting that the South occupying the seat of power for eight years is sacrosanct.
Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano state had recently faulted the President Bola Tinubu led federal government on the distribution of the nation’s wealth, alleging that the South is being favoured against the North.
According to the Kwankwasiyya’s leader, road networks in the North have remained in a poor condition, while infrastructural investments have been concentrated more in the South.
However, Nabena in responding to Kwankwaso’s claims said, the real intention of the former Presidential candidate was to incite the Northerners against the administration of President Tinubu and to truncate the quest of the South to complete eight years in the seat of power.
The APC spokesman added that such incitement for “a political business or negotiation, like some politicians did in 2019 and 2023 can no longer work because the people now know the real intention. The Kano voters now know who is using them for political business and even the political gladiators now understand the tactics of political merchants.”
He challenged Kwankwaso to travel across the South-South states by road and compare “the road networks in the Oil-rich region, where the money is coming from” to that of the Northern region.
“Is the north inferior or superior to the South after eight years of the North in the helm of affairs of Nigeria? Why is Senator Kwankwaso still complaining of under-development in the North when the region just completed it’s eight years? One will also wonder which of the Northern money or resources was used to develop the South? Is it the Gold, Rice or Groundnut pyramid?
“As a politician, we all understand what the former governor is up to. He is working hard to incite the North against the Southern presidency but that has failed woefully because the South must complete the eight years in the presidency for fairness and equity.”
The Bayelsa state born politician equally declared that Kwankwaso cannot and does not have the capacity to intimidate the South ahead of the 2027 general elections because the era of playing religious or ethnic cards is far becoming unfashionable.
