NNPP: Abba Yusuf Is Party Leader, Not Kwankwaso, Says Danmasani
The National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Sani Danmasani, has said Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State is the leader of the party, not Rabiu Kwankwaso.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Danmasani said the NNPP constitution recognises Yusuf as the party’s leader because he is currently its only serving governor.
He said Kwankwaso’s role as the party’s 2023 presidential candidate ended after the election, following the expiration of the Memorandum of Association between the NNPP and the Kwankwasiya Movement.
“It is not even news that some key members of the Kwankwasiya movement, including Kwankwaso, were later expelled from the NNPP for anti-party activities,” Danmasani said.
The NNPP chieftain expressed concern over continued media references to Kwankwaso as the party’s leader, saying this has caused confusion and led to negotiations with other political parties under the NNPP’s name.
“We reiterate that negotiations for 2027 alliances with Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiya movement are okay, but will be invalid if they are done purportedly on the NNPP platform,” he said.
Danmasani said only Dr Boniface Aniebonam, the founder and life member of the party’s Board of Trustees, and the National Executive Committee led by Dr Agbo Gilbert have the authority to negotiate on behalf of the NNPP.
“Any other negotiations outside this is null and void and will not hold,” he added.
He said Kwankwaso and his associates are free to join or form any political party of their choice but not as members of the NNPP.
“They were expelled and remain expelled. They should either join another party or float a new one,” he said.
Danmasani also appealed to Kwankwaso to stop using the NNPP’s name to criticise the ruling party and the presidency, adding that President Bola Tinubu is not responsible for Nigeria’s current challenges.
“We believe that with the intervention of friends of Nigeria like America and Israel, Nigeria shall be great once again. The essence of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration is an acceptance that all were not well before Tinubu assumed duty,” he said.
He urged the media to properly describe Kwankwaso as a former senator, former governor of Kano State, and the NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate, but not the party’s leader.
“It is our hope that the ongoing judicial review will compel INEC to update its records,” he added.
