Details of a meeting between the President-elect Bola Tinubu and Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party at the last election, have emerged as the former Lagos State Governor asked the erstwhile Kano State Governor to take either the Ministry of Education or agriculture in the cabinet he (Tinubu) will form in the next government.
Kwankwaso in the company of his wife Hajia Salamatu was received in Paris, France where Tinubu is preparing for his inauguration by the president-elect and his spouse Oluremi Tinubu and sources said the meeting took place on Tuesday.
Sources said the meeting centred around Tinubu’s desire to have Kwankwaso join his government and the former
“He told the NNPP leader to choose between the Ministry of Agriculture and that of Education,” one of our sources said.
“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.”
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.
Tinubu had defeated Kwankwaso and other 16 presidential candidates in the February 25, 2023 elections.
Kwankwaso, who ran on the platform of the NNPP, placed fourth in the election, winning only Kano State, a stronghold of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second while Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) came third.
