The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has explained why he chose former Kano State governor and Kwankwasiyya Movement leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking in an interview with The Sun published on Sunday, Obi said the decision was driven by their shared vision of lifting Nigerians out of poverty through education and economic development.

According to him, Kwankwaso’s philosophy aligns with his own agenda for transforming the country.

“Kwankwaso has the philosophy of pulling people out of poverty

“I have the same philosophy. Kwankwaso believes in education. You cannot change society without education.

“If you look at my X, formerly Twitter, I made it clear that I will emphasise education. Education is going to change society.

“Nigeria must be seen to form its innermost human capital, which we need to develop. Kwankwaso believes in this. I do. We have synergy,” Obi said.

The former Anambra State governor also dismissed suggestions of a rift between him and Kwankwaso, insisting they remain united ahead of the January 2027 general election.

“I don’t know why people talk about differences between people who are working together. Have you ever seen us quarrelling?

“You see, people quarrel even in offices because of transactional governance. The country is in a mess because of transactional governance. I am not into transactional government. I am into transformational governance.

“We want to change the society and make it better. We want to pull people out of poverty, not the other way around,” he said.

PUNCH Online reports that Obi and Kwankwaso emerged third and fourth, respectively, in the 2023 presidential election, behind President Bola Tinubu of the APC and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, then of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Obi ran on the platform of the Labour Party, while Kwankwaso contested under the New Nigeria Peoples Party.

Both men and Atiku had earlier, in 2026, formed an alliance under the ADC before Obi and Kwankwaso defected to the NDC, citing internal crises and legal disputes.

Responding to a question on why their alliance did not materialise ahead of the 2023 election, Obi said he was focused on the future rather than the past.

“Those who think about yesterday and today will miss tomorrow. The past is gone. We are talking about the present,” he said.

On concerns about managing supporters of both the Obidient Movement and the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Obi said both groups were united by a common desire for national transformation.

“We do not just have large followers alone. People are gravitating to what is right. How are we going to manage them? We have no problem whatsoever. We want to change the society. Our followers want a changed and better society,” he added.