A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Buba Galadima, has defended calls for a political alliance between the North and the South-East ahead of the 2027 general election.
This is even as the NDC chieftain said supporters of a Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso ticket have faced criticism for their position.
Galadima made the remarks while speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Wednesday, in reaction to recent comments by the NDC’s vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who advocated greater political cooperation between the North and the South-East.
According to Galadima, those backing an Obi-Kwankwaso ticket are being unfairly criticised by people who lack an understanding of Nigeria’s political history.
He argued that political alliances between the North and the South-East were not new, citing the cooperation between leaders of the Northern People’s Congress, NPC, and the National Council of Nigerian Citizens, NCNC, before and after Nigeria’s independence.
Galadima recalled that leaders such as Ahmadu Bello and Kashim Ibrahim worked alongside Nnamdi Azikiwe and other NCNC leaders during the struggle for independence.
According to him, the coalition reflected Nigeria’s unity in diversity before it was disrupted by the military coup of 1966.
Galadima maintained that the collapse of the First Republic should not be blamed on civilian political leaders, insisting that the military was responsible for truncating the democratic system.
Galadima said: “I saw what the senator has said. That’s a point that I have been making for a long time, and that statement was meant to address contemporary issues on the table in Nigeria, more so in northern Nigeria.
