The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has criticized Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso for calling members of the Kwankwassiya Movement who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) betrayers, asserting that Kwankwaso himself is the one who betrayed the party.
Kwankwaso, former Kano State governor and leader of the Kwankwassiya Movement, had condemned the defection of key NNPP members in Kano to the APC, labeling it a breach of trust. He made the statement at his residence on Miller Road, Kano, during a meeting with some caucus members from Takai Local Government Area.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Senator Abdulrahman Kawu, who represents Kano South in the National Assembly, recently joined the APC along with other federal lawmakers from Kano.
In a statement issued Monday in Lagos, NNPP National Chairman Dr. Agbo Major declared that Kwankwaso no longer speaks for the party.
“Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso have been expelled from NNPP and together with his followers, led by Dr Ahmed Ajuji.”
Major explained that the Kwankwassiya Movement is merely a group that merged with the NNPP ahead of the 2023 elections, during which Kwankwaso emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
He expressed disbelief that Kwankwaso would brand his former allies as traitors for switching parties.
“The NNPP has long severed its Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasia movement after the presidential elections in 2023, hence, members of the movement as Nigerian citizens, are legally free to join any political party of their choice.
The same Kwankwaso who betrayed the trust reposed in him by the NNPP when he tried to hijack the party, is the one calling others, betrayers.
Nigerians have the constitutional rights to join and belong to any political party of their choice.
Therefore, Kwankwaso who have long lost control of his Kwankwasiya movement cannot stop his members from belonging to the APC and or any other political party in Nigeria.
Kwankwaso lost all respects from his followers when he tried to bite the fingers that gave him the presidential ticket on trust without any financial obligations. Kwankwaso has long been expelled from the NNPP and should either register his own party or look for another political platform to hijack.
His members defecting to the APC simply shows that he has also lost control of the movement, just like he lost his planned hijack of the NNPP, registered in 2002 before his entrance in 2023.”
He concluded, “Kwankwaso’s political career ended with his expulsion from the NNPP and the consequent defection of his followers.”
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a case brought by Kwankwaso loyalists that sought to invalidate the authority of the NNPP’s current leadership under its founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, and National Chairman, Major.
The plaintiffs, led by Dr. Ahmed Ajuji and 20 others, wanted the court to bar NNPP officials such as Mr. Tony Christopher Obioha, Dr. Oginni Olaposi, and Chief Felix Chukwurah from carrying out their duties. They argued the officials had been expelled from the party.
But in a significant ruling, Justice M.A. Hassan ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, affirming that internal party affairs such as leadership and membership fall outside the court’s purview.
“Kwankwaso should take advantage of Sen. Abdullah Ganduje’s large heart to help him return to APC family as an ordinary member of the party rather than criticise defectors to the party,” Major added.
What you should know
Rabiu Kwankwaso, once the NNPP’s presidential flagbearer, is now at odds with the party after being expelled. The NNPP leadership accuses him of attempting to take over the party and now regards his criticism of defecting members as hypocritical.
With many of his supporters shifting to the APC, the party believes Kwankwaso’s influence is dwindling.
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