The National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the New Nigeria Peoples Party has declared that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, and not former Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is the authentic leader of the party.
Sani Danmasani, in a statement issued on Tuesday, insisted that the Kano state governor holds the leadership position by virtue of the party’s constitution, being the only serving governor elected on the NNPP platform.
The party chieftain emphasised that Kwankwaso’s role as the NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate was an arrangement that terminated following the conclusion of the general elections, with the expiration of the Memorandum of Association between the party 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 stated.
The NNPP official lamented what he described as the media’s continued reference to Kwankwaso as the party’s leader, warning that the misleading characterisation has enabled negotiations between the former Kano governor and various political parties under the guise of representing the NNPP.
“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,” Danmasani said. “Only Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who is the founder and life member of the board of Trustees, and the National Executive Committee led by Dr Agbo Gilbert can negotiate for the NNPP.”
He added: “Any other negotiations outside this is null and void and will not hold. 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.”
The statement represents the latest salvo in an escalating battle for control of the NNPP, a party that rose to national prominence during the 2023 general elections largely on the back of Kwankwaso’s profile and political machinery in Kano State, Nigeria’s most populous state in the Northwest geopolitical zone.
Kwankwaso, a two-term governor of Kano State between 1999 and 2003, and again from 2011 to 2015, emerged as the NNPP’s presidential standard bearer ahead of the 2023 elections, positioning himself as an alternative to the candidates of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. Although he did not win the presidency, his influence was instrumental in securing victory for Abba Yusuf in the Kano gubernatorial election, defeating the APC candidate in a fiercely contested poll.
However, tensions within the party have intensified in recent months, with rival factions disputing the leadership structure and questioning the extent of Kwankwaso’s control over party affairs. The emergence of these internal divisions has raised questions about the stability of the NNPP and its ability to present a united front ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Danmasani’s statement also touched on broader political issues, appealing to Kwankwaso to refrain from using the NNPP’s name to criticise the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We reiterate that President Bola Tinubu is not the cause of the state of the nation, especially in the areas of insecurity and economy,” the NNPP Northwest vice chairman said. “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 are not well before Tinubu assumes duty.”
The remarks suggest a possible warming of relations between sections of the NNPP and the ruling APC, raising questions about the party’s positioning as the 2027 elections approach. Political observers have long speculated about potential realignments within Nigeria’s opposition landscape, particularly in the wake of the 2023 polls, which saw the APC retain power at the federal level despite strong challenges from the PDP and the Labour Party.
Danmasani urged media organisations to adopt what he described as the proper designation for Kwankwaso, identifying him as a former senator, former governor of Kano State, and the 2023 presidential candidate of the NNPP, but not as the party’s leader.
“It is our hope that the ongoing judicial review will compel INEC to update its records,” he added, in an apparent reference to legal proceedings that may affect the official recognition of party leadership structures by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The NNPP was founded in 2001 but remained relatively obscure until Kwankwaso and his political associates revitalised the platform ahead of the 2023 elections. The party’s unexpected success in Kano State, where it won the governorship and a significant number of legislative seats, transformed it into a major player in Nigeria’s Northwest region, which has traditionally been dominated by the APC and the PDP.
The internal crisis now threatening to tear the party apart reflects a familiar pattern in Nigerian politics, where factional disputes over leadership and control of party structures have repeatedly undermined opposition parties. The Peoples Democratic Party, which governed Nigeria from 1999 to 2015, has been plagued by similar divisions, while the Labour Party experienced significant turmoil following the 2023 elections.
