From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said he sold some of his property to sponsor over 3,000 students in 14 countries.
He stated this at the commissioning of Juma’at Mosque, Amana Leadership Institute and Primary School and third RMK Colloquium, organised by the Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation, yesterday in Abuja.
He said: “I realised that I had a few things that I did not need, and I had to sell almost all things that I did not directly require for myself to pay for the scholarships. Our scholarship was not only for Kano indigenes. It was for residents, people who are living in Kano because we believe in the fact that where you live is your home.
“I am happy to say that in the 2019 election in Kano, we (Kwankwasiyya movement) had no governor, no minister, no serving or former member (House of Representatives). We had just these young men and women and we were able to win our election for the governorship. And that was why I was encouraged to create the scholarship scheme for our young men and women. When we advertised in 2019, believing that there are few people who are first class, we exhausted them in Kano.
“Second class upper we exhausted them. We went on to second class lower levels when I left government in 2015.
“We had over 3,000 of them going to 14 countries across the world. I’m also happy that we sponsored students in Nigeria private universities in Nigeria’s. More than 412 benefited and over 3000 were sent abroad. They are in different sets all sponsored by the Kwankwasiyya foundation.
“I feel the best investment for any politician is education because I was trained in Kano, in northern Nigeria. And Nigeria can only grow if we have educated people. When I was governor, we were able to feed our children in primary schools, return them to school.”
Meanwhile, his running mate, Archbishop Isaac Idahosa, poured cold water on the recent prediction by Fitch, a global rating company, that the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, might win next year’s presidential election.
Idahosa described the prediction as ‘fake and paid for’, saying his party will spring surprises nationwide, going by the political structures and alliances it is building across the country.
“Forget about those polls and ratings. They are paid for. When the votes are cast, then all eyes will be clear. We are not here to debate about the polls,” he declared.