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Momentum toward Nigeria’s 2027 general election is surging, with opposition figures preparing to wrestle power from the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Rabiu Kwankwaso, the former Kano State governor and vice-presidential hopeful representing the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
Speaking on the broadcast aired on Oct. 15, 2026, he addressed critical questions surrounding the Nigerian Democratic Congress’s (NDC) economic policy, regional security challenges in Northern Nigeria, and political realignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He also defended the single-term agreement with Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, while critiquing the ruling All Progressives Congress’s (APC) record on governance and fuel subsidy management.
DUBAWA identified some key claims he made during the interview and verified their accuracy.
Claim 1: Kano State Government collected over N1 trillion in revenue (including federal allocations) during recent years.
Kwankwaso said, “I think the Kano State government collected over a trillion, and that is their budget per annum in those years.”
Verdict: MISLEADING.
We reviewed Kano State’s official receipts from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) net disbursements and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) since the May 2023 fuel subsidy removal.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Kano State generated approximately N37.38 billion in internally generated revenue in 2023, N74.77 billion in 2024, and N102.26 billion in 2025. The 2026 figure has not yet been released.
Meanwhile, the state received a net allocation of about N78.37 billion between May and December 2023, rising to N169.98 billion for the full calendar year in 2024. By 2025, Kano State received approximately N159.59 billion in net allocation for the calendar year. Between January 2026 and August 2026, the state received a net allocation of N158.59 billion.
Cumulatively, Kano State earned around N780.94 billion from May 2023 to August 2026. This falls short of the “over N1 trillion” Kwankwaso claimed by around N219.06 billion.
Claim 2: During Kwankwaso’s last months as Governor, Kano State received N4 billion monthly for the state government and N4 billion monthly for local governments (totalling N8 billion per month from federal allocations).
“You remember when I was governor, even the last time I was leaving, the last months, we were getting N4 billion plus N4 billion for the local government, N8 billion per month,” he said.
Verdict: MISLEADING.
During Kwankwaso’s final months as governor, that is, between January and May 2015, Kano State received more than N4 billion each for the state and local government. Data collated from the NBS showed that Federal allocation only started nearing the N4 billion mark around April and May 2015, when he handed over to Abdullahi Ganduje.
Kano State earned N8 billion in Federal allocation only in May 2015, with the exact amount at N8,880,192,721.16. The preceding months exceeded N9 billion, meaning Kwankwaso downplayed his calculations.
Claim 3: In 2003, the gubernatorial and presidential elections were combined on the same day for the first and only time in Nigerian history.
Kwankwaso said, “…the gubernatorial and presidential elections were put on the same day for the first, and I believe the last time.”
Verdict: TRUE.
Available records showed that Nigeria conducted the 2003 presidential and gubernatorial polls on Apr. 19, 2003. The preceding election, held in 1999, was the first election heralding the Fourth Republic, and the most recent transition from military leadership to civilian administration. Voters decided governors’ fates on Jan. 9, 1999, while they elected the president on Feb. 27, 1999.
The 2007 elections were held on Apr. 14, 2007, for governors, while the presidential poll took place on Apr. 21, 2007.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rescheduled the 2011 general election to Apr. 16 and 26, 2011, for the Presidential and gubernatorial elections, respectively.
The next presidential election in 2015, which brought in the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, was held on Mar. 28, 2015, while the gubernatorial poll took place on Apr. 11, 2025. The next two general elections also had separate dates for the presidential and governorship contests. Only the 2003 election was held on the same date, when Kwankwaso lost to Ibrahim Shekarau.
Claim 4: In the 2023 elections, the PDP gubernatorial candidate in Kano State received roughly 15,000 votes, whereas the NNPP candidate secured over 1 million votes.
He said, “If you look at records, in the last election of 2023, [Shekarau]’s candidate of the PDP got 15,000 votes. [NNPP]’s governor got over 1 million votes, and you can always see the difference.”
Verdict: TRUE.
Data from the electoral commission, announced by Ahmad Doko Ibrahim, the returning officer, showed that Kabir Yusuf, representing the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), garnered 1,019,602 votes. Sadiq Wali of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had 15,957 votes. Kabir afterwards decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Jan. 26, 2026.
Claim 5: Kano State provided 100% free education from primary school to university during Kwankwaso’s eight years as governor.
Kwankwaso said, “People may not even believe—because I am not sure if you believe—that we had free education from primary to university in Kano State for the 8 years I was governor in Kano.”
Verdict: MISLEADING.
Kwankwaso served as Kano State governor in two terms: the first (May 1999 – May 2003) and the second (May 2011 – May 2015). Findings revealed that he declared and implemented the free and compulsory education policy only toward the end of his second term, in December 2013. However, he provided free lunch for students attending public primary schools during his first term, which he revived when his second term began.
The free education in state-owned schools policy took effect only in the 2014 budget session and lasted until May 2015. This contradicted his claim that education was free from primary school to university for his eight years as governor.