The activities of some loyalists of a former governor of Kano State, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, have been raising concern, with many believing that with the Kwankwasiyya leader now the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), any other loyalist left behind in the PDP could be to scuttle the fortunes of the PDP in the state.
This is just as reports from our reporters showed that NNPP is making inroads in Jigawa, Kaduna and some parts of the North West geopolitical zone.
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At least two groups among his loyalists have been identified as capable of orchestrating the plot. The first is the factional executive of the PDP in the state led by its chairman, Shehu Sagagi, while the second is a group of loyalists that recently announced their separation from the strongman of Kano politics.
This group includes Yusuf Suleiman Dambatta, Dr. Yunusa Dangwani, Abubakar Nuhu Danburam, Akilu Sani Indabawa and Abdullahi Isa Sulaiman, among others.
This second group had a few weeks ago, raised eyebrows after they met with a former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, and appealed to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP to dissolve the state exco led by Sagagi.
It said the call was based on the allegation that the exco was only serving as a front for Kwankwaso to perpetuate his alleged agenda of sabotaging the party in the 2023 elections and beyond.
Some analysts had, however, maintained that the group may only be operating through a smokescreen, thereby also accusing them of what they were claiming against the Sagagi-led exco.
But while talking with Daily Trust, Dambatta insisted that they have parted ways politically with Kwankwaso because they observed among others that the former governor gave greater priority to his personal ambition (to become president) above the collective ambition of the PDP.
Dambatta, who served as commissioner for three ministries during Kwankwaso’s second term as governor, said they decided to stay in PDP because they believed the party will bounce back in 2023, hence their decision to mend fences with the other groups within the party in the state.
“The same reasons given for leaving PDP in 2014 were the same reasons he gave us in 2018 for leaving APC to return to PDP and now in 2022, these are the same reasons being put forward to leave PDP again, but we realised that PDP has given us all the mandate, it has ensured that all the aspirations of former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso have been achieved (barring presidency).
“Almost 80-85% of his achievements were granted by PDP. But when people place too much emphasis on self-actualisation, they tend to lose all,” he said.
He said their allegation that the Sagagi-led exco was working for Kwankwaso to sabotage the PDP in Kano was informed by many observations which included utterances by Kwankwaso as well as public identification with NNPP by some of the excos and other party leaders loyal to Kwankwaso while still retaining their membership of PDP.
Reacting to the insinuations, however, Sagagi told Daily Trust that they were nothing but “baseless insinuations that cannot be substantiated.”
“First of all Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso never for once contacted me in his planned defection as the elected chairman of the party. All I can say is that I know he has serious misunderstanding with some caucus in the North West which resulted to his defection, especially with regards to the North West zonal election where he felt he was unfairly treated despite his political stature,” he said.
Sagagi, who recently got a court order restraining the NWC from dissolving the Kano exco, further said that “Those who are insinuating that (he remained in PDP to scuttle the party) may be the ones guilty of that.
“This is because, throughout their political career, Kwankwaso has been their political godfather unlike me who worked with Muhammed Abacha, Amb. Aminu Wali, Bello Hayatu etc.
“How can an elected chairman with integrity work to scuttle his party? This is unimaginable,” Sagagi said, revealing that when Kwankwaso left PDP for APC in 2014, he (Sagagi) did not follow him but remained in the PDP.
Also reacting, Sanusi Bature, the coordinator of Kwankwasiyya Media Centre, said the allegations were not true, noting that Kwankwaso has no plan of doing anything negative to PDP.
He said Kwankwaso as a national politician has followers across different political parties across the country.
NNPP records gains in Jigawa, Kaduna, others
In Jigawa, following the defection of Kwankwaso to NNPP, the party has been recording new members into its folds.
Leading the pack is the two-time governorship candidate of the party and former Chief of Staff (CoS) to the governor, Aminu Ibrahim Ringim.
Ringim has been at the logger-head with a former governor of the state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, with the latter accused of deliberately sabotaging the election of Ringim in 2015 and 2019 allegedly to pave the way for one of his sons.
Former media aide to Governor Badaru Abubakar during his first tenure, Bello Zaki, is among the prominent figures of the ruling party that have joined the party, but investigation has shown that more might soon join from the APC, especially with the party primaries approaching.
A similar scenario is playing out as the party is making its footprints in Kaduna State. The party has concluded its ward, local government, state and North West congresses.
Some members of the party assured that apart from the party state secretariat at Bakin Ruwa in Kaduna, there are plans to open offices in Kaduna’s 23 local government areas as well as across the wards.
Our correspondent gathered that many supporters of former Governor Kwankwaso under the Kwankwasiya ideology have indicated interest to join the party which already has 36 elected party officials in Kaduna State.
The Kaduna State Chairman of the party, Ben Kure, is an ex-political adviser to Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.
From Clement A. Oloyede (Kano), Lami Sadiq (Kaduna) & Mohammed Abubakar (Dutse)
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