As former governor emerges ‘Authentic Politician of the Year’
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Air Force, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, has called out Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso for what he described as “hypocritical and entitled” comments on the defection of prominent New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) members to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
  
In a statement issued yesterday, Rurum, who represents Rano/Bunkure/Kibiya Federal Constituency, criticised the former Kano governor for accusing defectors of committing a “political sin,” noting that Kwankwaso himself has a long history of switching political parties.
 
“This is someone who defected from the PDP to the APC in 2015, returned to the PDP in 2018, and then moved to the NNPP in 2022,” the lawmaker stated.
 
“If switching parties is a sin, then Kwankwaso himself has a lot to confess,” he added.
 
Rurum was responding to comments made by Kwankwaso during a political meeting at his Miller Road residence in Kano, where he condemned the recent wave of defections from the NNPP to the APC.
 
The legislator said the decision by himself and other high-profile politicians, including Senator Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada, Nura Dankadai, and Badamasi Ayuba Dambatta, to join the APC was informed by “prevailing political realities and the need to serve our people better.”
 
“We are not political ornaments who exist for social media hype or cult followership.
 
“We are grassroots politicians who earned our mandates through years of service, sacrifice, and community engagement,” he said.

BESIDES, the former governor and National Leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Kwankwaso, has been honoured with the title of “Authentic Politician of the Year” by The Authentic News Daily.
  
This is in recognition of his decades-long dedication to grassroots politics, education, and public service.
  
The award was presented during the 2025 National Leadership Awards Ceremony held in Kaduna, where political figures, religious leaders, and public servants from across the country were celebrated for outstanding contributions to national development.
  
Presenting the award, the Managing Editor of the publication, Jacob Dickson, described Kwankwaso as a rare and principled politician whose ideology remains rooted in the upliftment of the common man.