The emergence of a new faction in the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has again proven that all is not well in the opposition party. While some party members blame external forces, other stakeholders reckon that the crisis is far-reaching, MURITALA ADEWALE reports.

The bug that is draining life from opposition parties in Nigeria has eaten deep into the root of the Kano State chapter of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), attacking the Kwankwasiyya movement, which has been supplying the party with the necessary oxygen to breathe.

The factional chairman of the party, Senator Mas’ud El-Jibril Doguwa, has expressly disowned the movement, founded by the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and members who pledged loyalty to the group.

Doguwa’s faction is backed by the founder and chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who is having a running battle with Kwankwaso over the control of the party.

But the Kwankwasiyya faction of the party in Kano State, led by Hon. Hashimu Dungurawa, has the support of the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf; all the 44 local government chairmen, two out of three senators and majority of Reps members from the state.

Notably, the party won elections solely in Kano State. However, observers are concerned about how the new faction opposing Kwankwaso is receiving maximum protection from security agencies in the state.

The crisis in the state began when some members of the party, led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, decried the movement’s influence on the state government activities and urged the governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf to be independent.

The party immediately suspended Bichi and he was subsequently sacked as the SSG. However, Bichi did not stop his campaign against the Kwankwasiyya group. His latest onslaught was his alliance with Aniebonam who has various court judgments supporting his hegemonic control over the party. Aniebonam and Bichi installed Doguwa as the factional chairman of the party, ostensibly to whittle down the Kwankwaso’s influence in the state.

With two factions of NNPP in Kano State, members are not only polarised over which one is legitimate, but there is a mistrust among members of the state executive council and House of Assembly dominated by the Kwankwasiyya’s faction. However, to complicate the matter, members of both factions are claiming to be loyal to the state governor.

Speaking on the effect of the crisis on the state, a political analyst, Dr Kabiru Sufi, disclosed that there are intrigues going on, which will manifested after the second year anniversary of the administration because that is when real politics will begin in the state.

He said: “I’m not surprised that Kano is now the theatre of war between the two factions because this is where NNPP leaves in terms of power. Well, I don’t think the entire drama bothers ordinary people in Kano or even affects governance as such because the government has not given it much attention.

https://guardian.ng/politics/nnpp-unseen-hands-and-emerging-cracks-in-kwankwasiyya-household/