NNPP crisis deepens as two Kano federal lawmakers dump Kwankwasiyya

• Party rejects court order recognising Aniebonam

Two federal lawmakers and members of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) have withdrawn their loyalty from the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 poll and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Although the two Kano legislators pledged allegiance to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the party, they, however, announced the withdrawal of their followership from the Kwankwasiyya political dynasty.

The lawmakers are members representing the Dala Federal constituency, Aliyu Sani Madakin-Gini, and his Rano/Kibiya/Bunkure Federal constituency counterpart, Alhassan Rurum.

The exit of the two federal lawmakers has widened the internal crisis rocking the ruling NNPP in the state. Addressing party loyalists in Kano, Madakin-Gini said he had decided to part ways with Kwankwasiyya because of Kwankwaso’s leadership style.

“From today, I, Aliyu Sani Madaki, no longer associate with the Kwankwasiyya Movement. They have dismissed us, saying we lack support, but we are not afraid to stand alone.

“Let it be known there is no one I cannot confront in the Kwankwasiyya Movement from top to bottom if needed head-on. This movement, if it is akin to a religion, we have paid our dues. But they say we are not useful, that we don’t have support,” he added.

On his part, Rurum, who also announced his decision while addressing loyalists in the ancient city, did not give any reason for his action. Rurum, a former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, simply pledged his loyalty to the Dr Boniface Aniebonam-led faction of the NNPP and Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

The ex-speaker equally maintained that he aligned himself with the recently formed movement calling on Governor Yusuf to stand firm on the mantle of governance, devoid of interference from Kwankwaso.

When contacted, State NNPP Chairman, Hashim Dungurawa, told The Guardian that the two lawmakers should have equally relinquished their seats at the National Assembly to justify their interest.

He described the duo as betrayals to the movement that brought them to the political limelight, warning that they should be expecting their downfall. The internal rancour filtered into public space a few weeks ago when the NNPP leadership announced the suspension of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, and Commissioner for Transportation, Mohammed Diggol from the party.

Although Dungurawa told journalists that both senior party members were suspended for disloyalty to constituted authority, it was gathered the party punished them for their alleged sponsorship of a new movement within the NNPP.

BUT the NNPP, yesterday, condemned a recent ruling from the Federal High Court in Abia, which reportedly granted Dr Boniface Aniebonam control over the party’s administration, calling it fraudulent and legally flawed.

The ruling, issued by Justice C.U. Okoroafor of the Uzuakoli Division of the Federal High Court in Abia State, ordered the immediate takeover of the NNPP’s Board of Trustees (BOT) by a faction led by Dr Aniebonam.

In a statement, NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, explained that the party’s constitution had been amended as of April 6, 2024, “rendering the cited version in the judgment obsolete.” He clarified that the party has since rejected the ruling, insisting that it “contravenes existing party structures and legal decisions.”

Johnson said the individuals claiming to represent the BOT had been expelled from the party, a decision confirmed by a Federal High Court in Abuja. He also averred that the jurisdiction of the court in Abia was not involved, as no originating process in the said suit was served on the NNPP at its registered office.

Johnson said: “None of the authentic National Working Committee (NWC) officers, who have their names and addresses registered with INEC as required by the CFRN 1999 (as amended), was served with the said process leading to the judgment.

“The registered office of NNPP with INEC is No.11, Mahatma Gandhi Street Area 11, Garki, Abuja as required by Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution and the extant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.”