Prince Tony Momoh, a national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed regret over the conflict between Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and Governor Umar Ganduje.
The former Minister of Information said the two used to be very close to the extent that those who know them were blaming ‘juju’ (traditional spell) for the current hostility.
“If there is anybody I don’t want to leave APC with his followers, it is one man I love more than any other average man and that is Rabiu Kwankwaso”, Momoh told Independent.
“I was the one that conducted his governorship primary with Ganduje in 1998 under PDP. They were so close between 1998 to 2003. Wherever Kwankwaso went, Ganduje went with him. They were like brothers and sisters; Siamese twins.
“Even when they lost the governorship election in 2003, Kwankwaso went to federal level as Minister of Defence and Ganduje was still with him as Special Adviser. When he came back to contest in 2011, he also chose Ganduje as his deputy and after the expiration of his tenure in 2015, he handed over to Ganduje as his successor.
“Honestly, I still can’t fathom what came in between them. They seem to have very fundamental reasons why they don’t want to work together. Some people claim it is as a result of juju but only two of them know what is wrong but I am shocked that they are this divided,” he added.
On Tuesday, Ganduje spoke on the feud with Kwankwaso.
The governor dismissed his ex-principal’s influence in the APC and Kano politics and recalled how moves by elders to reconcile them failed.