The national secretary of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Ogini Olaposi, states that plans to join the APC are being pursued by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya Movement, not the party itself.
The NNPP scribe gave the clarification in a statement on Monday.
Mr Kwankwaso, a former Kano governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the NNPP, on Saturday declared that he and his supporters were ready to join the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Mr Kwankwaso, however, warned that his political movement will not allow itself to be used to win elections and then abandoned afterwards.
Reacting to the situation, Mr Olaposi said that by the declaration, Mr Kwankwaso has finally admitted that he and his movement are not part of the NNPP.
“At last, we have been vindicated. All negotiations by any party with Kwankwaso should be done in his individual capacity. Our party will now rest from the movement’s resistance after they were expelled for anti-party activities.
“The NNPP has nothing against the ruling party, and if at any point ahead of the 2027 general elections we think we should enter into an alliance with APC or any other, it will be decided by all members.
“For now, we are putting our house in order ahead of elections nationwide after the crisis and litigations that Kwankwaso and his followers brought to the NNPP,” Mr Olaposi said.
According to Mr Olaposi, the memorandum of understanding between the Kwankwasiya Movement and NNPP ended after the 2023 presidential election.
“The crisis began because, rather than leave peacefully, they began to plan to hijack the party. We can’t wait to see them in another party,” he said.
The national secretary stated that Mr. Kwankwaso no longer has a political platform, and the majority of his followers in Kano had joined the APC long before this.
“Kwankwaso has no political party. His political value dipped after betraying the NNPP, which gave him a free platform for his presidential ambition, and when the strategic members of the movement joined the ruling party.
“Nigerians who negotiate with Kwankwaso and his group should know that it is on his right as a citizen but not as a member of the NNPP. Any negotiation in the name of NNPP is null and void because they remain expelled from our party,” he stated.
The NNPP chieftain lamented the delay by INEC in uploading the party’s new executive after a court-ordered convention that produced the Agbo Major-led executive.
(NAN)
