The New Nigeria Peoples Party has dismissed reports suggesting that the National Leader of the party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, overreached himself in a purported negotiation for his defection to the All Progressives Congress.
According to the NNPP, Kwankwaso never held any discussion with President Bola Tinubu on joining the APC, contrary to claims in some quarters.
Following the defection of the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, to the APC, there were reports that the party fell out with Kwankwaso due to what was described as his “high demands.”
The Group Chief Executive Officer of Global Investment and Trade Company, Baba Yusuf, in an interview with Arise TV on Friday, said Kwankwaso misjudged his political leverage in his reported negotiations with the APC.
“I will agree with the second outcome you mentioned — that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso overreached,” Yusuf said.
However, responding to the reports, the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, dismissed the claim that the former Kano State governor entered into any negotiation with the APC.
Ladipo, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, stated that Kwankwaso never contemplated defecting to the APC.
“It is a blatant lie that Kwankwaso made demands or entered into negotiations with the APC or Tinubu for his defection to the party. That never happened.
“The last time he met with the President was in 2024, and there was no discussion about defecting to the APC. Those spreading these lies are doing so deliberately to discredit him (Kwankwaso). They do not want him to join other opposition forces.
“Kwankwaso is a man of integrity and plays his politics well, having the interest of the general public at heart,” Johnson said.
