Tinubu felicitates Kwankwaso at 70, says party rivalry won't touch their bond
- President Bola Tinubu has wished Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso a happy 70th birthday in a message released by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.
- Tinubu said the two men's different parties and rival tickets for the January 2027 election will not weaken his personal regard for Kwankwaso.
- The message traces their friendship to the 1992 National Assembly and their shared 1999 governors' class.
President Bola Tinubu has sent birthday greetings to Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the former Kano State governor who turned 70 on Wednesday, 21 October 2026.
The message, released by the President's spokesman Bayo Onanuga, made clear that the two men now stand on opposite sides of politics but remain personally close.
Tinubu is seeking re-election on the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket. Kwankwaso is running for vice-president on the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) platform as running mate to Peter Obi in the January 2027 election.
In the statement, the President said belonging to different parties and contesting on separate platforms would not take away his affection for the former Kano governor.
Three decades of friendship
Tinubu traced the relationship to 1992, when both men sat in the National Assembly: Kwankwaso in the House of Representatives and Tinubu in the Senate.
They met again in 1999, when each was elected governor — Kwankwaso in Kano and Tinubu in Lagos. The President described that set of leaders as the Class of '99 governors, saying they helped lay the groundwork for the democracy Nigerians use today.
Their political routes later separated, the statement said, before they rejoined forces in 2013 to found the APC. Tinubu said history and public service have kept them connected since then.
The President listed Kwankwaso's record in public life: two terms as Kano governor, Minister of Defence, senator for Kano Central, a presidential candidate and now a running mate. He called him an influential figure and a progressive politician.
He closed by wishing Kwankwaso good health, personal fulfilment and many more years in the country's democratic life.
For ordinary Nigerians, the exchange is a reminder that the 2027 campaign is already under way, with former allies now asking voters for support from rival camps. The two men's careers have crossed for more than three decades, and their parties will meet at the ballot in January 2027.
