The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has declared that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is the leader of the party, dismissing continued references to former Kano governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as its leader.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the National Vice Chairman of the NNPP (Northwest), Alhaji Sani Danmasani, said Governor Yusuf occupies the position of party leader by virtue of being the only sitting governor produced by the NNPP, in line with the party’s constitution.
Danmasani explained that Kwankwaso’s association with the NNPP was limited to the 2023 general election and ended after the expiration of the Memorandum of Association between the party and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
“It is not even news that some key members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, including Kwankwaso himself, were later expelled from the NNPP for anti-party activities,” he said.
He expressed concern over what he described as persistent misrepresentation by the media, which continues to portray Kwankwaso as the leader of the NNPP, a development he said has created confusion and led to alliance talks being wrongly attributed to the party.
“We reiterate that negotiations for 2027 alliances with Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya Movement are permissible, but such talks will be invalid if conducted under the NNPP platform,” Danmasani stated.
According to him, only the party’s founder and life member of the Board of Trustees, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, alongside the National Executive Committee led by Dr Agbo Gilbert, have the authority to negotiate on behalf of the NNPP.
“Any negotiations outside this structure are null and void and will not be recognised,” he added.
Danmasani stressed that Kwankwaso and his supporters, having been expelled, no longer have the right to act or speak in the name of the NNPP.
“They remain expelled. They are free, as Nigerian citizens, to negotiate to join any political party of their choice or float a new one, but not as members of the NNPP,” he said.
He also appealed to Kwankwaso to desist from using the name of the NNPP to criticise the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the presidency, noting that President Bola Tinubu should not be blamed for Nigeria’s current economic and security challenges.
According to him, the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration acknowledges that many of the country’s problems predated the current government.
Danmasani further urged media organisations to accurately describe Kwankwaso as a former senator, former governor of Kano State and the NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate — but not the party’s leader.
He concluded by expressing hope that the ongoing judicial review would prompt the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to update its records to reflect the current leadership structure of the NNPP.
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