A faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has countered Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso’s criticism of defectors to the APC, claiming he is the “betrayer” and no longer speaks for the party

A faction within the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has launched a scathing response to Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso’s condemnation of party members who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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This faction asserts that Kwankwaso, rather than the defectors, is the true “betrayer” and no longer holds the authority to speak on behalf of the NNPP.

Sen. Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, had criticized key NNPP members in Kano State, including Sen. Abdulrahman Kawu, for their defection to the APC, labeling their actions as a betrayal of trust.

However, in a statement released on Monday, Dr. Agbo Major, the National Chairman of a faction within the NNPP, dismissed Kwankwaso’s comments, stating that he has been expelled from the party.

“Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso have been expelled from NNPP and together with his followers, led by Dr Ahmed Ajuji,” Major declared.

Major clarified that the Kwankwasiyya Movement was merely a group admitted into the NNPP during the 2023 presidential elections, when Kwankwaso became the party’s flagbearer.

He argued that the NNPP had severed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kwankwaso and his movement following the elections, thereby granting members the freedom to join any political party of their choice.

“The NNPP has long severed its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya movement after the presidential elections in 2023, hence, members of the movement as Nigerian citizens, are legally free to join any political party of their choice,” Major stated.

He further accused Kwankwaso of attempting to “hijack” the NNPP and losing the trust of the party. “The same Kwankwaso who betrayed the trust reposed in him by the NNPP when he tried to hijack the party, is the one calling others, betrayers.”

Major emphasized that Nigerians have the constitutional right to join any political party. “Therefore, Kwankwaso who have long lost control of his Kwankwasiya movement cannot stop his members from belonging to the APC and or any other political party in Nigeria.”

He claimed that Kwankwaso’s “political career ended with his expulsion from the NNPP and the consequent defection of his followers.”

“Kwankwaso lost all respects from his followers, when he tried to bite the fingers that gave him the presidential ticket on trust without any financial obligations,” Major added.

Major urged Kwankwaso to “take advantage of Sen. Abdullah Ganduje’s large heart to help him return to APC family as an ordinary member of the party rather than criticise defectors to the party.”

This statement follows a recent ruling by an Abuja Federal High Court, which dismissed a suit filed by Kwankwaso loyalists challenging the legitimacy of the NNPP’s current leadership under its founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, and Dr. Agbo Major. The court affirmed that it lacked jurisdiction to intervene in internal party disputes.