NNPP: Abba Yusuf Is Our Leader, Not Kwankwaso — Party Chieftain

 

A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Alhaji Sani Danmasani, has declared that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is the leader of the party, not former governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Danmasani, who is the NNPP National Vice-Chairman (North-West), said this in a statement on Tuesday, stressing that by the provisions of the party’s constitution, Governor Yusuf automatically assumes the position of leader as the only serving governor elected on the NNPP platform.

He explained that Kwankwaso’s role as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election ended after the polls, following the expiration of the Memorandum of Association between the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.

According to him, some prominent members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, including Kwankwaso, were subsequently expelled from the NNPP for alleged anti-party activities.

“It is therefore misleading for the media to continue referring to Kwankwaso as the leader of the NNPP,” Danmasani said, adding that such reports have created the false impression that Kwankwaso is negotiating on behalf of the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

He clarified that while Kwankwaso and his supporters are free as Nigerian citizens to engage in political talks or alliances, such discussions cannot be conducted in the name of the NNPP.

“Any negotiation for 2027 alliances involving Kwankwaso or the Kwankwasiyya Movement is valid only in their personal or group capacity, but becomes null and void if done under the NNPP platform,” he stated.

Danmasani further noted that only the party’s founder and life member of the Board of Trustees, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, alongside the National Executive Committee led by Dr Agbo Gilbert, has the constitutional authority to negotiate or enter into alliances on behalf of the NNPP.

He urged Kwankwaso and his group to either formally join another political party or float a new one, insisting that they remain expelled from the NNPP.

The NNPP chieftain also appealed to Kwankwaso to stop using the party’s name to criticise the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu, arguing that the current challenges facing the country predated the present administration.

Danmasani called on the media to properly describe Kwankwaso as a former governor of Kano State, former senator and the NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate, but not its leader.

He expressed hope that ongoing judicial processes would compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to update its records to reflect the current leadership structure of the party.