Kwankwaso to formally launch his presidential bid at Abuja's Eagles Square on Wednesday

FORMER Kano State governor Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso set to formally declare his presidential bid this Wednesday at the Eagle Square in Abuja where he will officially become an aspirant seeking to become the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer.

Currently the lawmaker representing the Kano Central Senatorial District, Senator Kwankwaso left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) last month and defected to the PDP. he has been travelling round the country drumming up support for his bid and now his Kwankwaso Presidential Campaign Committee believes the time is right to launch the bid officially.

Senator Kwankwaso will be making his second attempt at getting a party ticket to vie for the highest office in the land. He first contested against President Muhammadu Buhari during the APC presidential primaries in Lagos in 2014 and came second and the refusal of the party to allow him challenge again, led to his defection.

A Kwankwaso Presidential Campaign Committee spokesman said: “It is imperative for us to embark on massive infrastructural turnaround across the country with the judicious management of the nation’s resources without necessarily mortgaging the future of the country on excessive foreign loans and its attendant burden. Dignitaries from all walks of life from across the country and the diaspora are expected to attend the declaration.”

He added that Senator Kwankwaso would eliminate insecurity in all its forms across the country and return Nigeria to the path of prosperity. When the campaign starts, senator Kwankwaso is expected to face stiff opposition from the likes of Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, Ibrahim Shekarau, Sule Lamido, Ahmed Makarfi, Attahiru Bafarawa, Aminu Tambuwal and Kabiru Taminu.

Since he indicated his interest in running for the presidency though, Senator Kwankwaso has been at loggerheads with his successor and former deputy Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State, who is a Buhari loyalist. As a result of the bad blood between the two men, Senator Kwankwaso has found it difficult to hold rallies and campaign in Kano.