By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

The National Leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, has maintained that he has no plans to defect to another political party.

Making the clarification at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday, Kwankwaso said the NNPP was performing well in Kano and other states, adding, “we are very happy about that.”

He acknowledged that many people attended the meeting to hear from him following recent fake news reports that he would be making a critical decision about his future with the NNPP.

“But let me take this opportunity to tell you that we have our party, and we are comfortable. We are happy. We are ready to do whatever it takes because we are not in a hurry,” he said.

Kwankwaso emphasised that any negotiation regarding 2027 general election would be a collective decision, as he believed in party supremacy.

“If there will be any negotiation, it will be collective. It will not be only for the negotiators but for the entire members of this NNPP family.

“The fact remains that there is nobody in Kwankwasia today that I know, or even in NNPP, who is saying that, ‘yes, I want to go,” he said.

He advised party members not to be swayed by the hype of politicians defecting to any party.

“Those people don’t understand, and they don’t have much experience. They believe that they know when they actually don’t know.

“Even if they are interested in knowing, I think they should come and ask one of us,” he said.

Kwankwaso recalled how he lost the 2003 governorship election in Kano, even as a sitting governor, due to public support for the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He noted that he returned to power eight years later, calling it a “good lesson for everybody.”

He said that Nigerians had already made up their minds about the 2027 general election, adding that “reality will determine the people’s votes.”

In his remarks, the party’s National Chairman, Dr Ajuji Ahmed, said the NNPP was “the beautiful bride of Nigerian politics and democracy,” waxing strong as the country heads towards the 2027 elections.

Ahmed urged eligible citizens to register for their permanent voter cards.

Gov. Abba Yusuf of Kano State, represented by his deputy, Aminu Gwarzo, said despite all plots against the NNPP, the party was progressing under Kwankwaso’s leadership.

He claimed the party won the two recent by-elections in Kano but was robbed of the victory, expressing confidence that the mandate would be reclaimed.

The NNPP’s 2023 Vice Presidential candidate, Bishop Isaac Idahosa, affirmed the party’s readiness for victory in 2027, noting that it was gaining a “focused direction” under Kwankwaso’s leadership.

Highlights of the event included the appointments of caretaker committees for Kogi, Gombe, Taraba, and Jigawa states and the extension of the Lagos State chairman’s tenure.

Attendees included NEC-elected political officers on the NNPP platform and an INEC observer team. (NAN)