Kwankwaso believes the support for the Labour Party comes from one out of the six regions in the country.

The former governor of Kano said this on Sunday, June 3, 2022, while featuring on Sunday Politics, a current affairs programme on Channels Television.

According to him, if the people of the southeast cast their votes for a particular candidate, the person can not be president going by the provision of Nigeria’s constitution.

To win a presidential election in Nigeria, the constitution states that a candidate needs an overall majority and at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the states (24 states).

“In PDP, they (South East) are completely out; so also in the APC. The only opportunity now is the NNPP. We are aware that on the social media, the young men and women of the Southeast extraction are working towards getting the presidency, but the facts on the ground is that even if the entire zone or any zone in this country decides to vote for a particular person, that person, going by the provision of our constitution can not be president. I think the Constitution is deliberate to ensure that everybody in the country is involved.” 

“Today, many people in the Southeast believe that they are being marginalised and it will even be worst if they are not involved in the 2023 project. Labor Party as it stands today can not certainly win an election because the support is mainly from a particular zone and the figures there can not earn anybody a presidential position,” he said.

Kwankwaso said he is sympathetic to the agitations in the southeast because he doesn’t want a situation where a section of the country would feel that it is being maginalised.

He added that the relationship between his party and the LP would allay the tensions in the region.

He said, “I have many reasons why I as Rabiu Kwankwaso is sympathetic to South East and I think the relationship between LP and NNPP will cool down a lot of tension in the South East. We don’t want a situation where by a particular section of the country will feel that it is being marginalized and already we have a lot of tension there. And this tension is not good for the South East and for the country. We have a situation today in this country where in that part of country, the whole zone is being shut on Mondays; so many people are being killed and so many business opportunities are being wasted.

“That is why I take this opportunity to say that the leaders at that level should think positively so that this marriage can work. And If this marriage doesn’t work, the implication is that his own candidate in the PDP will be the biggest beneficiary because the North today, the way they operate politically is not very clear to many people.”

The NNPP Presidential candidate, who had earlier maintained that he could not be anybody’s running mate said his party is bent on picking a vice-presidential candidate from the south-east.

He said the NNPP could go for Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), or any key person from the region.