NNPP Disowns Kwankwaso’s Move to Join APC

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has distanced itself from the reported plan by its former presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to return to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party’s National Secretary, Dr. Ogini Olaposi, in a statement on Monday, said Kwankwaso’s declaration was a personal decision of the Kwankwasiya Movement and had nothing to do with the NNPP.

Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, had on Saturday announced that he and his supporters were prepared to join the ruling APC but cautioned that his group would not accept being used and later abandoned.

Reacting, Olaposi said the announcement was proof that Kwankwaso and his movement were no longer part of the NNPP, stressing that they had already been expelled for anti-party activities.

“At last, we have been vindicated. All negotiations with Kwankwaso should now be done in his individual capacity,” Olaposi said.

He added that the Memorandum of Understanding between the Kwankwasiya Movement and the NNPP ended after the 2023 general elections. According to him, the crisis in the party began when Kwankwaso and his supporters allegedly attempted to hijack the party’s structure instead of exiting peacefully.

The NNPP scribe further stated that many of Kwankwaso’s loyalists in Kano had already joined the APC, leaving the former minister without a solid political platform.

“Kwankwaso has no political party. His political value dipped after betraying the NNPP, which gave him a free platform for his presidential ambition,” Olaposi said.

He maintained that any negotiation conducted in Kwankwaso’s name could not be linked to the NNPP since he and his group remain expelled.

Olaposi also criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the delay in recognising the new leadership of the party led by Dr. Agbo Major, following a court-ordered convention.