A fresh political crisis appears to be brewing within the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, in Kano State, as the party chairman, Usaini Isa Mai Riga, has rejected alleged moves to hand over the party structure to former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Speaking exclusively on Monday, Mai Riga disclosed that negotiations aimed at integrating Kwankwaso into the party had collapsed after two meetings failed to resolve disagreements over leadership control.
According to him, the former governor is allegedly demanding total control of the party structure in the state, a move he described as unacceptable.
“He wants us to hand over the entire party to him, despite the sacrifices we made when the party had little or no presence,” Mai Riga said.
The chairman maintained that the current leadership would resist any attempt to displace them, vowing to explore all legitimate means to retain control of the party structure.
“This will not happen. We will pursue all lawful avenues to ensure that the party structure is not hijacked,” he added.
Mai Riga further alleged that the party’s national leadership directed the suspension of the planned state congress in Kano following Kwankwaso’s recent entry into the NDC, claiming the move was part of efforts to facilitate the takeover of the party structure.
“We were instructed not to hold the congress because of plans to hand over the structure. That is why I am not at the venue today. We will not allow the rights of our members to be trampled upon,” he said.
The development marks the first public opposition from the Kano State leadership since Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, officially joined the party barely 24 hours earlier.
Kwankwaso was said to have arrived in Kano on Monday and is expected to meet with key political allies on party structure and electoral strategies ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, Mai Riga noted that the former governor had yet to formally engage with the state leadership.
Efforts to reach Kwankwaso or his aides for comment were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
