Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. Image source: BBC
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Claim: A Facebook user, @Ogwu Tv, claimed that Rabiu Kwankwaso said he would accept a vice presidential ticket to Peter Obi for the 2027 election.
Verdict: Misleading. DUBAWA found no credible evidence that Kwankwaso expressed support for Peter Obi or agreed to be his running mate. The video cited was taken out of context.
Full Text
As is common in Nigeria’s political landscape, especially around elections, malign actors spread misinformation on social media to undermine political parties’ efforts by providing citizens with lopsided or false information about candidates.
Rabiu Kwankwaso has often been the target of such false claims. For example, in May 2025, DUBAWA verified a Facebook claim that Kwankwaso had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The post included a video showing him wearing a cap said to carry President Bola Tinubu’s insignia. DUBAWA found that the image in the video had been digitally altered.
Recently, a Facebook user, @Ogwu Tv ( archived here), claimed that Rabiu Kwankwaso said he would accept the vice presidential ticket with Peter Obi in the 2027 election.
The user shared two videos in a single post. In the main video, he presented his account of the claim. Later, a smaller video placed in the bottom-right corner showed Kwankwaso standing in front of a microphone, but the audio was inaudible. The only audible sound DUBAWA heard came from the Facebook user, who said, “Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Kano State governor and also a former senator, said he wants Peter Obi to be the president of this country. He said he wants to be his number two in the forthcoming presidential election.”
The Facebook user further stressed the importance of the information he found interesting and encouraged his audience to share the video.
About 20 seconds into his explanation, a second video appeared at the bottom-right of the screen for about five seconds. In the clip, Kwankwaso spoke in a language DUBAWA identified as Hausa, saying, “Ni Rabiu Kwankwaso in hau ko da namba daya ne ko biyu.” This translates to, “I, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, will rise to the top, either as number one or number two.” Loud applause from the crowd followed the statement.
The next scene in the Facebook video showed another man who affirmed the claim and examined what he described as the possibility of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso working together. He added that such an arrangement could allow Kwankwaso to become president after four years of Peter Obi’s administration.
As of Jan. 19, 2025, the clip had 110 likes, 6 comments, 23 shares, and 1,000 views.
@Ohioma Samuel expressed approval: “That’s good development.”
@Tima Dan shared a positive reaction: “Nice one.”
@Abdullahi Yusuf disagreed with the claim: ” It’s a lie, kwakwaso can’t be Peter Obi’s vice president.”
We also found the same claim here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Given Kwankwaso’s prominence in Nigeria’s political space and the circulation of this claim across multiple Facebook pages, DUBAWA decided to assess its authenticity.
Verification
DUBAWA analysed the videos shared in the Facebook post and conducted multiple keyword searches to determine whether Rabiu Kwankwaso had publicly expressed willingness to run as Peter Obi’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2027 presidential election.
Using keywords like “Kwankwaso supports Peter Obi 2027,” “Kwankwaso vice president Peter Obi,” and “Kwankwaso comments on Obi presidency,” DUBAWA found no credible news report or official statement confirming the claim. The only sources advancing this narrative were social media posts.
DUBAWA then closely reviewed the video clip circulated by the Facebook user. We found that the footage predates the claim and was taken during a Kwankwasiyya gathering at Kwankwaso’s residence on Miller Road, Kano.
News Central shared a clip from this event in which Kwankwaso spoke in Hausa, discussing political alliances and coalition-building. He dismissed rumours of secret political arrangements and explained his long-standing position on coalition politics.
His statement, translated into English, reads, “But now we are talking about the issue of our dear country. So we have to unite to become successful. We hope to form a coalition with another party, whether NNPP or another party. But what we want is a party that will agree that I, Kwankwaso, will be either the number one (President) or the number two (Vice President).”
This statement shows that Kwankwaso was outlining conditions under which he would consider a political alliance, not expressing support for Peter Obi or requesting to be his running mate. His remarks were general and conditional, applying to any potential coalition and not tied to a specific candidate or party.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s checks reveal the claim is misleading, as no credible report supports it. The video of Kwankwaso speaking was taken out of context.
Good and nice one.