Top grassroots mobilizers of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), including members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), according to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin.
Jibrin announced the defections via his verified X account, referring to the NNPP as a “mushroom political party fading fast” in Kano State, particularly in Kano Central.
The first wave of defectors was led by Alhaji Abdullahi Sani Kwami, popularly known as Dollar, a former vice chairman of Gwarzo Local Government Area. Kwami, alongside grassroots executives and women leaders, formally joined the APC during a visit to Jibrin at the National Assembly.
Comrade Mohammed Nafiu Danlami, a former student leader, led another group of defectors, abandoning the symbolic red caps associated with the Kwankwasiyya Movement. They attributed their departure to the “anti-masses policies and dictatorial leadership style” of the NNPP’s leader.
Abba Kafi Governor, a youth mobilizer in Getso, Gwarzo LGA, also defected to the APC, citing similar grievances. According to Jibrin, Kafi and his followers were particularly drawn by his interventions and projects.
“Yesterday, a famous youth mobilizer of the NNPP/Kwankwasiyya in Getso, Gwarzo LGA, Abba Kafi Governor, led his followers to the APC, saying my pro-people interventions and projects attracted them,” Jibrin stated.
Welcoming the defectors, Jibrin remarked, “Congratulations on leaving a mushroom political party known only in a few Kano Central Senatorial District wards for a national political party that is globally recognized, where your freedom is guaranteed, and you are as free as the air.”
Jibrin further claimed that the NNPP is virtually nonexistent in Kano North and is rapidly losing ground in Kano South, with key players defecting to the APC.
“It is common knowledge that in the NNPP, everything revolves around and is determined by one person, contrary to democratic principles that allow everyone the right to aspire for any position,” he added.
For the youth leaders among the defectors, Jibrin pledged mentorship, emphasizing their potential as the future of Nigeria. “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,” he said.