A fresh crisis is tearing through the National Democratic Congress in Kano State as the party’s North-West leadership has accused former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of orchestrating a hostile takeover of the party’s structure while systematically excluding non-members of his Kwankwasiyya movement from accessing nomination forms.
The North-West Vice Chairman, Mohammed Serina, and Kano State Chairman, Hussaini Mariga, jointly signed a petition to the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, detailing what they described as a calculated attempt by Kwankwaso to monopolise the party’s electoral ticket distribution.
Serina explained that disagreements first surfaced during the party’s state congresses when Kwankwaso allegedly moved to take complete control of the Kano chapter.
“Following our confirmation, we were entrusted with the responsibility of building and strengthening the party’s structures across our respective jurisdictions,” Serina said.
“We diligently discharged this responsibility until the entry of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his supporters into the party.”
According to the party officials, a resolution was eventually reached at a meeting convened by Dickson, granting Kwankwaso and his supporters 60 per cent of the party structure in Kano State while the founding members retained 40 per cent.
But that agreement, they claimed, collapsed during the distribution of nomination forms for elective offices.
Serina alleged that after the forms were handed over to Kwankwaso, he refused to make them available to party members who were not part of the Kwankwasiyya movement.
“Unfortunately, despite repeated engagements, Senator Kwankwaso refused to allow access to nomination forms by party members outside the Kwankwasiyya group,” the statement read.
“More troubling was his refusal to allocate nomination forms to the state chairman, myself, or any other party officer who was not affiliated with the Kwankwasiyya group.”
The party leaders alleged that none of the 40 state House of Assembly forms, 24 House of Representatives forms, three senatorial forms, or the governorship form was allocated to aspirants outside the Kwankwasiyya fold.
Serina said he personally appealed to the former governor to release at least five state assembly forms and seven House of Representatives forms to other stakeholders, leaving all senatorial positions under Kwankwaso’s control, but the request was allegedly rejected.
The officials said Dickson met Kwankwaso on two occasions and appealed to him to accommodate other stakeholders, while the National Working Committee also sent a delegation to seek a political resolution. Despite these interventions, Serina alleged that Kwankwaso remained unwilling to compromise.
“It is our position that no individual possesses an exclusive monopoly over political wisdom or electoral viability in Kano State,” he stated.
The party leaders further claimed that prominent politicians who joined the NDC independently of Kwankwaso’s influence, including former House of Representatives member Nasiru Ahmed and former Kano State Governor Kabiru Gaya, were among those affected by the dispute.
“We are not members of the Kwankwasiyya movement, and we cannot accept a situation in which membership of a particular political group becomes the sole criterion for participation, recognition, or eligibility for elective office within our party,” the statement added.
But the Kwankwasiyya Movement has dismissed the allegations as unfounded.
According to a report by The, PUNCH, spokesman for the movement, Habibu Muhammed, insisted that no aspirant was denied access to nomination forms.
“What we can say about the concerns raised is that party primaries have already taken off long before today,” Muhammed said.
“However, it is unfortunate that at this particular point in time, when prominent people who ought to be not only well-wishers of the party, but also the foundation on which the NDC will thrive weeks after the primaries, are beginning to talk this way.”
Muhammed maintained that nomination forms were sold by the party and not by the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
“Nobody was denied sale of forms because it is the party and not the Kwankwasiyya that sells forms. We were all there and witnessed everything up to the consensus day.
“So, we don’t know where all those things are coming from, and I don’t think this is the right time for us to join issues. This kind of allegation can only come from those who might actually be thinking of sneaking or bypassing the process.”
A loyalist of Kwankwaso, a former chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party who spoke on condition of anonymity, also dismissed the allegations.
“Don’t mind them. They are raising false alarms because their unlawful activities are being checkmated,” he said.
“If you know what these people were doing in the build-up to the party primaries, selling out forms to random persons and many of Kwankwaso’s enemies, you will be shocked.”
The crisis comes months after Kwankwaso was welcomed into the NDC and granted substantial influence in Kano State, a move that now threatens to unravel as both sides dig in ahead of the upcoming elections.
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