Embattled National Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Dr. Agbo Gilbert Major, has declared that Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, is no longer a member of the party.
Speaking on Trust TV, Gilbert stated that Kwankwaso ceased to be part of the NNPP since 2023 and insisted the party has since moved on.
“Let me make it clear that there are more serious issues to talk about than to talk about Kwankwaso as a person. I’m not here to talk about him. He’s become part of the history of NNPP. At a point, he came in, and at a point, he left with his Kwankwasiyya movement. So, I don’t want to talk about him,”;; Gilbert said.
“He’s gone by the provisions of the constitution of our party, and by the declarations that have been made across several courts of the land – the Abia high court judgement as well as the recent FCT high court.”;;
Addressing the wave of defections affecting opposition parties, including the NNPP, Gilbert attributed the exits to dissatisfaction with the Kwankwasiyya movement, not the NNPP itself.
“Kwankwaso came in with his people – the so-called Kwankwasiyya movement. And if you look at the CV of the people that have defected, you’d see that they were very active members of the Kwankwasiyya movement. In fact, they were very instrumental to the success of the NNPP across Kano,”;; he said.
“So, they have lost very critical persons, very good politicians – politicians that are decisive, that could seal the fate of everybody. That’s exactly what has happened.”;;
He further clarified that the defectors remained aligned with the NNPP, despite distancing themselves from the Kwankwasiyya bloc.
“Let me place it on record by saying that they didn’t defect from NNPP, because we are in touch with them. All they keep telling us is that ‘we are with you, we have no problems with the party, we have no problems with the programs, but we have problems with the organisation that became part of you through which we came into the party and won election’. So, that we lost a Senator – Kawu specifically – that we lost two members of the House of Reps is not a revolution against NNPP.”;;
He added: “People have taken so much that they can’t stomach anymore. They’re telling the Kwankwasiyya movement ‘we are tired of what you are doing. It has become a one-man show, we are tired of it, we are leaving’. But I can tell you that they are with us. We are in touch with them.”;;
According to Gilbert, “The beauty of democracy is the flexibility that politicians have to be able to move from one political party to the other. If you are in a place where you are no longer comfortable, looking for instance at the vessels that brought you into that place, you are free and at liberty to walk away. But like I said, as a point of emphasis, I am still saying it and let it be on record that these people did not defect.”;;
He acknowledged the realities of Nigeria’s political system, stating: “Of course the only vehicle through which people win elections in this country remains the political parties. Of course we have no room for independent candidacy yet, and so they won elections into those seats through the NNPP platform and they have left.”;;
“Yes, you’d look at it from the surface that they have left the NNPP but deep inside – for those of us who are inside players within the NNPP – we know that they didn’t leave the NNPP; they only left the Kwankwasiyya movement.”;;
Gilbert emphasized that the relationship with the defectors remains cordial. “These are people that we have had robust relationship with, and I will continue to place emphasis on that, that deep inside them, they know that they don’t have issues with the leadership of the NNPP. The challenges that led to their departure have to do with the Kwankwasiyya movement and the way it is being run. The defectors are still our friends.”;;
Asked whether he was concerned about Kwankwaso’s perceived ties with the presidency, Gilbert dismissed the notion, saying: “I want you to put yourself in my shoes. Would you be worried if somebody – who for over a year now is not being a member of your party – is walking into another political party? Why should that disturb you? Please let us discuss serious matters. The man is gone. I told you that he is part of the history of NNPP. He came at a point and left. I don’t want to talk about him. I want to discuss things that would further enhance our operational capacity.”;;
He concluded, “What I can tell you is that he is at liberty to go to wherever he wants, because we have no business with him. He ceased to be a member of this party since 2023 June.”;;
