Illustrative image: Supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement in Kano. Photo: User:danzainab, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has faulted the description of his party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by Vice President Kashim Shettima as the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions.
Shettima made the remark on Wednesday during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, as the ruling party formally kicked off preparations for the 2027 general elections.
But reacting during an appearance on Channels Television's Politics Today on Thursday, Kwankwaso defended Obi, describing him as a politician who is conversant with statistics and generally presents accurate figures.
Kwankwaso said those attacking Obi's numbers were avoiding a debate on the substance of the issues confronting the country, insisting that the former Anambra State governor has consistently backed his positions with data.
The exchange is one of the first direct clashes between the camps of the two major contenders ahead of the 2027 campaign season, with the APC already inaugurating its campaign structures while opposition parties fine-tune theirs.
During the same interview, Kwankwaso also expressed hope that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would correct the omission of the NDC's Kano State governorship candidate, Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, from its recently released list of candidates for the 2027 elections.
He said the party and its representatives had visited the commission over the omission and were asked to write to it, which the party has done, and he expressed confidence that the error would be fixed.
The NDC had earlier blamed an administrative error for the omission of Gwarzo and his running mate from the INEC list, insisting that the candidate completed his registration within the period set by the commission.
Political analysts say the war of words over statistics signals the tone of the 2027 campaign, in which economic records and data-driven arguments are expected to take centre stage.
Source: Channels Television
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