The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has distanced itself from Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya Movement, following his declaration that he is ready to rejoin the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement issued on Monday in Lagos, the party’s National Secretary, Dr. Ogini Olaposi, said Kwankwaso’s announcement confirmed that he and his movement were no longer part of the NNPP.
Olaposi stressed that the former Kano State governor and 2023 NNPP presidential candidate had acted independently, adding that any negotiation involving him should be seen as a personal move and not one made on behalf of the NNPP.
“At last we have been vindicated. Kwankwaso has finally admitted that he and his movement are not part of the NNPP,” Olaposi declared.
“Any talks with him should be on an individual basis. Our party will now rest from the resistance and distractions caused by the Kwankwasiya group before their expulsion for anti-party activities.”
Kwankwaso had announced on Saturday that he and his supporters were now open to joining the APC.
However, he warned that his movement would not allow itself to be used merely to win elections and later abandoned.
Olaposi, in reaction, noted that the Memorandum of Understanding between the NNPP and Kwankwasiya Movement ended after the 2023 elections.
He accused the group of attempting to hijack the party rather than leave peacefully.
“The crisis began because instead of bowing out after the elections, they tried to seize control of the NNPP.
We can’t wait to see them in another party,” Olaposi said.
He further stated that most of Kwankwaso’s followers in Kano had already defected to the APC, leaving him without a strong political base.
“Kwankwaso no longer has a political platform.
His value dipped after betraying the NNPP, which gave him a free platform for his presidential ambition.
Strategic members of his movement are already in the ruling APC. Negotiating with him is his right as a citizen, but not as a member of the NNPP,” the party scribe added.
Olaposi also expressed disappointment at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for delaying the upload of the NNPP’s new executive list following a court-ordered convention that produced the Dr. Agbo Major-led leadership.
The NNPP emphasized that any negotiation done in its name with Kwankwaso was “null and void”, since he and his loyalists remain expelled.