National Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Dr. Agbo Gilbert Major, has said Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, is not a recognised member of the party.
Speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, Gilbert said their party has no business with Kwankwaso, stating that he (Kwankwaso) has ceased to be NNPP member since 2023.
He said, “Let me make it clear that there are more serious issues to talk about than to talk about Kwankwaso as a person. I’m not here to talk about him. He’s become part of the history of NNPP. At a point, he came in, and at a point, he left with his Kwankwasiyya movement. So, I don’t want to talk about him.
“He’s gone by the provisions of the constitution of our party, and by the declarations that have been made across several courts of the land – the Abia high court judgement as well as the recent FCT high court.”
Commenting on the gale of defections hitting major opposition political parties in the country, including the NNPP, Gilbert said, “Kwankwaso came in with his people – the so-called Kwankwasiyya movement. And if you look at the CV of the people that have defected, you’d see that they were very active members of the Kwankwasiyya movement. In fact, they were very instrumental to the success of the NNPP across Kano.
“So, they have lost very critical persons, very good politicians – politicians that are decisive, that could seal the fate of everybody. That’s exactly what has happened.”
He, however, claimed that those who defected from the NNPP did so because they were tired with the way the Kwankwasiyya movement was being run, but had no issues with the NNPP as a party.
“Let me place it on record by saying that they didn’t defect from NNPP, because we are in touch with them. All they keep telling us is that ‘we are with you, we have no problems with the party, we have no problems with the programs, but we have problems with the organisation that became part of you through which we came into the party and won election’. So, that we lost a Senator – Kawu specifically – that we lost two members of the House of Reps is not a revolution against NNPP.
“People have taken so much that they can’t stomach anymore. They’re telling the Kwankwasiyya movement ‘we are tired of what you are doing. It has become a one-man show, we are tired of it, we are leaving’. But I can tell you that they are with us. We are in touch with them.
“The beauty of democracy is the flexibility that politicians have to be able to move from one political party to the other. If you are in a place where you are no longer comfortable, looking for instance at the vessels that brought you into that place, you are free and at liberty to walk away. But like I said, as a point of emphasis, I am still saying it and let it be on record that these people did not defect.
“Of course the only vehicle through which people win elections in this country remains the political parties. Of course we have no room for independent candidacy yet, and so they won elections into those seats through the NNPP platform and they have left.
“Yes, you’d look at it from the surface that they have left the NNPP but deep inside – for those of us who are inside players within the NNPP – we know that they didn’t leave the NNPP; they only left the Kwankwasiyya movement.”
He added, “These are people that we have had robust relationship with, and I will continue to place emphasis on that, that deep inside them, they know that they don’t have issues with the leadership of the NNPP. The challenges that led to their departure have to do with the Kwankwasiyya movement and the way it is being run. The defectors are still our friends.”
Asked if he was worried about Kwankwaso’s relationship with the presidency, Gilbert said, “I want you to put yourself in my shoes. Would you be worried if somebody – who for over a year now is not being a member of your party – is walking into another political party? Why should that disturb you? Please let us discuss serious matters. The man is gone. I told you that he is part of the history of NNPP. He came at a point and left. I don’t want to talk about him. I want to discuss things that would further enhance our operational capacity.
“What I can tell you is is that he is at liberty to go to wherever he wants, because we have no business with him. He ceased to be a member of this party since 2023 June.”
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