NNPP Crisis Deepens: Chieftain Backs Gov Yusuf, Says Kwankwaso ‘Can Join Another Party’
The internal crisis rocking the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has taken a new twist as the party’s National Vice Chairman (North-West), Sani Danmasani, has declared Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State as the authentic leader of the party, effectively dismissing the authority of the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Danmasani maintained that constitutionally, Governor Yusuf, being the only serving governor elected on the NNPP platform, holds the position of party leader.
The chieftain argued that the political marriage between the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement—the formidable political machine led by Kwankwaso—has expired.
According to him, the “Memorandum of Association” that bound the movement to the party ended after the 2023 general elections.
“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 stated.
He further advised the former Kano governor to seek a political platform elsewhere if he wishes to continue his political activities, insisting that he cannot do so under the banner of the NNPP.
“Kwankwaso and his group have the right as Nigerian citizens to negotiate to join any 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 added.
Danmasani also raised alarms over reported negotiations between Kwankwaso and other political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He warned that any alliance brokered by the former senator purportedly on behalf of the NNPP would be considered “null and void.”
He clarified that the power to negotiate for the party resides solely with the National Executive Committee led by Dr. Agbo Gilbert and the founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam.
Reaffirming loyalty to the Kano State Governor, Danmasani urged the media and the public to accord Governor Yusuf the respect due to him as the party’s national leader.
He contrasted this with Kwankwaso’s status, which he described merely as that of a “former senator, former governor, and 2023 presidential candidate.”
The statement also touched on national issues, with the NNPP chieftain defending President Bola Tinubu against accusations regarding the nation’s economic and security challenges. He appealed to Kwankwaso to stop using the NNPP platform to cast aspersions on the Presidency, arguing that the current administration inherited significant difficulties.
“We believe that with the intervention of friends of Nigeria… Nigeria shall be great once again,” Danmasani noted, expressing support for the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
This development highlights the deepening factional war within the NNPP, pitting the “Agbo Major” faction—which claims ownership of the party structure—against the Kwankwasiyya group, which commands the grassroots following in Kano State.
