Kano By-elections: NNPP Explains Absence From Ballots

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State has explained why it did not participate in the ongoing Kano Municipal and Ungogo State Constituency by-elections on Saturday, saying its decision was guided by compassion and respect for the families of the deceased lawmakers who occupied the seats in the State House of Assembly.

In a press statement issued on Saturday by the spokesperson of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Habibu Mohammed, the party said it deliberately refrained from fielding candidates for the by-elections in honour of the late legislators who were elected on its platform.

The statement noted that the two lawmakers, who died on the same day last year, were committed members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and the NNPP. It recalled that the party’s National Leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, had initially supported the nomination of the deceased’s children as consensus candidates during the mourning period as a mark of solidarity and continuity.

According to the movement, the arrangement was adopted by the party before new political developments altered the situation.

The statement alleged that following the defection of the Kano State governor, Abba Yusuf, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), fresh nominations were made under the APC banner on the eve of submission of the NNPP candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It further claimed that some political office holders were initially positioned to fly the APC flag in the by-elections but that a reversal later occurred after public backlash, leading to the adoption of the same individuals earlier nominated under the NNPP, this time as APC candidates.

The movement alleged that the nominees were subsequently pressured to resign their NNPP membership and defect to the APC.

Despite the development, the statement said Kwankwaso chose to maintain his earlier position that the children of the deceased lawmakers should go to the State Assembly, regardless of the platform on which they were contesting.

“Consequently, the NNPP deliberately refrained from substituting their names, even after their resignation from the party,” the statement read.

The party argued that its absence from the ballots, as published by INEC, underscored that there was only one recognised NNPP structure in Kano State and dismissed claims of factional candidates.

The movement urged the public to disregard what it described as attempts to distort the facts for political advantage, insisting that its decision was rooted in loyalty, justice and respect for the sacrifices of its fallen members.