The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, has described the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Kano State as a “mushroom political party fading fast.”
This remark came as he received key grassroots mobilisers, including members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, who announced their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Announcing the defections via his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, Senator Jibrin emphasized that the NNPP’s influence was rapidly diminishing in Kano State, particularly in Kano Central senatorial district, while the Kano North and South Districts had already witnessed significant defections of political heavyweights to the APC.
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According to Jibrin, the defections involved members from three major blocs within the NNPP. The first bloc was led by Alhaji Abdullahi Sani Kwami, a former vice chairman of Gwarzo Local Government Area, who, alongside hundreds of grassroots party executives and women leaders, defected to the APC at the office of the Deputy Senate President in the National Assembly.
Similarly, a group of former student leaders, under the leadership of Comrade Mohammed Nafiu Danlami, renounced their affiliation with the Kwankwasiyya movement, symbolized by its signature red caps, and joined the APC.
They cited the Kwankwasiyya leader’s alleged anti-masses policies and dictatorial leadership style as their reasons for abandoning the NNPP.
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Furthermore, a well-known youth mobiliser of the NNPP/Kwankwasiyya in Getso, Gwarzo LGA, Abba Kafi Governor, also led his followers to the APC, attributing their defection to the impactful projects and pro-people interventions initiated by Senator Jibrin.
While welcoming the defectors, Senator Barau lauded their decision, asserting that the NNPP was fast losing relevance in Kano.
“As it is now, the NNPP is fast fading away in Kano Central, where it is only known in a few wards. The party is unknown in Kano North, and in Kano South, the key players of the party are on their way to the APC.”
“Congratulations on leaving a mushroom political party for a national political party that is known globally, where your freedom is guaranteed, and you are as free as the air,” Jibrin declared.
Criticizing the NNPP’s leadership structure, he asserted that the party operated under an autocratic system where decisions revolved around a single individual, contrary to the democratic principles upheld by the APC.
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“As the decampees lamented, it is common knowledge that in NNPP, everything revolves around and is determined by one person against the democratic ethos that gives everyone the right to aspire for any position,” he said.
The Deputy Senate President also pledged to mentor the defecting youth leaders, emphasizing their importance to Nigeria’s future.
“For the youth leaders, I pledged to mentor them. They are this country’s future. We know the importance of good mentorship in positively shaping citizens’ lives. ”
“They are young, educated, and a great asset to our beloved country. They don’t belong there. They belong here, where they have free space to be what they want to be in life. They have been freed and liberated from the bondage of the mushroom political party,” he added.