Some members of a faction of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) have disowned Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as leader of the party and burnt the Kwankwasiyya group’s iconic red caps.
The factional national chairman of the party, Dr Gilbert Agbo, who led the anti-Kwankwasiyya campaign at the party secretariat in Minna, Niger State, said Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya group were threats to the progress and existence of the party.
The ongoing power struggle within the NNPP raises concerns about the party’s unity and future prospects.
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As the crisis unfolds, the party’s loyalists and Nigerian politics enthusiasts eagerly await the next developments.
Speaking at the North Central Zonal meeting in Minna, Dr Agbo emphasised that Kwankwaso’s suspension by the National Working Committee (NWC) in Lagos automatically terminated his membership and stake in the party.
Dr Gilbert who also supervised the burning of the Kwankwasiyya group’s iconic red caps at the state secretariat of the party in the state, said the move signified a clear statement to dissociate themselves from Kwankwaso’s faction.
He said Governor Kabir Yusuf of Kano State was expected to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee for failing to comply with the party’s principles and supremacy.
But reacting, Mallam Danladi Umar Abdulhamid, leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement in Niger State, described the Dr Agbo-led executive as illegal, maintaining that Kwankwaso remained the national leader of the party under Dr Ahmed Ajuji.
Crowd of APC members defect to NNPP in Kano
Meanwhile, a crowd of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members yesterday defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), aligning themselves with the Kwankwasiyya movement led by Kwankwaso in Kano State.
The APC members officially joined the NNPP in Tofa and Ghari local government areas of the state.
They were welcomed by the state party chairman, Dr Hashimu Suleiman Dungurawa, during a ceremony held at both locations.
Daily Trust reports that the event was marked by the flag-off of the NNPP’s chairmanship campaign ahead of the coming local government elections.