Kwankwaso bows to pressure, cancels Kano rally

Rabiu Kwankwaso, lawmaker representing Kano central senatorial district, has shelved his visit to Kano state.

The police had advised him to postpone the visit in order to avoid an outbreak of violence between his supporters and loyalists of Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor.

Both Kwankwaso and Ganduje had fixed their rallies for Tuesday.

After the police advice, Kwankwaso had vowed to go ahead with his trip.

But speaking through Rabi’u Sulaiman Bchi, a former secretary to the state government, on Monday, Kwankwaso announced the cancellation, saying it followed a series of consultations.

“This standoff has attracted the attention of well-meaning Nigerians at home and abroad who have called to give advice that mostly borders on the preservation of lives and property of our supporters and admirers,” he said.

“In view of the above and after lengthy consultations with well-meaning Nigerians, we painfully have decided to shelve the visit at the moment.

Bichi, therefore, thanked all those leaders who advised and showed concern, supporters and admirers who put in a lot of time, energy and resources to make the visit successful.

“It is important to state that Kwankwaso’s visit will never be a reason to deliberately inconvenience any citizen, small or big, let alone spill a drop of blood of any citizen,” he said.

“We, therefore, appeal for peace, calm and call on our supporters to disregard any provocative statement.”