NNPP Crowns Kwankwaso As National Leader

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Former Governor of Kano State and Leader of the popular Kwankwasiyya Political Movement, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has been unanimously crowned as the National Leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

Kwankwaso dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the new party on Tuesday in Abuja after communicating his decision in a letter to the PDP chairman of Kwankwaso Ward in Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State, saying the action was informed by “some serious and irreconcilable differences.”

While obtaining the NNPP’s membership card, ahead of Wednesday’s convention, the former Minister of Defence had disclosed that in 30 years, he contested elections 16 times and won 13 times.

According to him; “I know why people lose elections and I know how people win elections. In the last 30 years, I have contested election 16 times and won 13 times.”

Kwankwaso, who was responding to questions from journalists on the capabilities of his new political party to perform well in the 2023 general elections, said the support from his loyalists and NNPP’s supporters has been quite impressive, adding; “What remains is for all of us to go back to the grassroots, our states and local governments to register ourselves and families and to tell all Nigerians to register with NNPP.

“We are all aware that the people are tired of the APC and PDP and that was why previous elections recorded low voter turnout.

“We thank God that we have fresh air for a better new Nigeria. People are tired and want change and the NNPP is the fresh air that can do it.”

Kwankwaso said also slammed the ruling APC’s inability to effectively tackle insecurity, noting that as a former Defence Minister, he was pained at the turn of events in the country while condemning Monday’s train attack in Kaduna which led to the killing, injury and kidnapping of passengers.

interestingly, at the end of the NNPP convention, Kwankwaso loyalists, including those with him in the Kwankwasiyya Movement and The National Movement (TNM), a third force he launched in Abuja, clearly dominated the 39-man new National Executive Committee (NEC).

Emerging as the NNPP National Chairman is Prof. Rufai Alkali, a political scientist and former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from Gombe State; Deputy National Chairman, AVM Ifemeje John Chris (rtd) from Anambra; National Secretary, Mr Dipo Olayoku from Ogun State; National Organizing Secretary, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi – Kaduna and National Publicity Secretary, Major Gilbert Agbo – Benue among others.

Recalled that after announcing his plan to join the NNPP, the Kano chapter of the party dissolved its executive committee and appointed Mr Kwankwaso’s ally as chairperson as part of the political horse-trading.

This is the second time that Kwankwaso will be formally resigning his PDP membership in eight years.

Mr Kwankwaso had first left the PDP, alongside the then governors Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers States, in November 2013 to join forces with the APC after staging a walk out from the PDP National Convention in Abuja.

However, in July 2018, he returned to the PDP alongside 14 APC senators and unsuccessfully sought the PDP presidential ticket for the 2019 election.

This time around, Kwankwaso left the PDP with some of his allies, including the 2019 PDP governorship candidate in Kano, Abba Kabir, who had earlier announced his resignation from the PDP to join the NNPP.

For the former Kano State Governor, it has indeed been a running battle with the PDP over the leadership of the North-west zone of the party.

In April 2021, the party had to suspend the zonal congress in Kaduna after supporters of the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, clashed with those of Mr Kwankwaso at the event. In the process, ballot boxes were destroyed even before voting could start, forcing observers and other officials to run for their dear lives.

With the main dispute being the position of zonal National Vice Chairman, Kwankwaso and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, who leads a rival faction of the PDP in Kano presented candidates for the position.