According to Dr. Ogini Olaposi, national secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya Movement are planning to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The explanation was provided by the NNPP scribe in a statement released in Lagos on Monday.
Former Kano State governor Kwankwaso, who is the NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate, announced on Saturday that he and his followers are now prepared to join the ruling APC.
Kwankwaso cautioned, nevertheless, that his political movement will not permit itself to be utilized to win elections and then disbanded.
NNPP reacts
Olaposi responded to the circumstance by saying Kwankwaso has now acknowledged that he and his movement are not affiliated with the NNPP through the announcement.
“We have finally been vindicated,” he remarked. Kwankwaso should be consulted in his individual capacity during all talks.
As a result of the Movement’s expulsion for anti-party activity, our party will now take a break.
“The NNPP has nothing against the ruling party, and it will be up to all members to determine whether or not we should form an alliance with the APC or another party before the next elections in 2027.
“For the time being, we are organizing our house in preparation for national elections following the crisis and lawsuits that Kwankwaso and his supporters brought to the NNPP.”
Olaposi claims that following the 2023 presidential election, the Kwankwasiya Movement and NNPP’s Memorandum of Understanding came to an end.
Instead of departing amicably, they started making plans to take over the party, which sparked the crisis. “We’re eager to see them at another party,” he remarked.
The majority of Kwankwaso’s supporters in Kano joined the APC long ago, according to the national secretary, and he no longer has a political platform.
Kwankwaso does not belong to any political party. Following his betrayal of the NNPP, which provided him with an unrestricted platform for his presidential ambition, and the strategic members of the movement joining the ruling party, his political value declined.
Negotiators with Kwankwaso and his organization should be aware that it is within his rights as a citizen, not as a NNPP member.
“The NNPP is still expelled from our party, so any negotiations in their name are void.”
Following a court-ordered convention that resulted in the Dr. Agbo Major-led executive, the NNPP chieftain bemoaned INEC’s tardiness in uploading the party’s new executive, he continued.
