A crisis is brewing within the Kano State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as the state chairman, Usaini Mai-Riga, publicly rejected alleged moves to hand over the party’s leadership structure to former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Mr Kwankwaso joined the NDC on Sunday alongside the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
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Speaking in an interview with Premier Radio on Monday, Mr Mairiga disclosed that negotiations aimed at integrating Mr Kwankwaso into the party was ongoing but said he cannot handover the party leadership to the newcomers.
He revealed that two separate meetings failed to resolve fundamental disagreements over leadership control.
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According to Mr Mairiga, the former governor is demanding total control of the state’s party structure —a demand Mr Mairiga described as unacceptable given the history of the chapter.
“He wants us to hand over the entire party to him, despite the sacrifices we made when the party had little or no presence,” Mr Mai Riga said.
In the radio interview, Mr Mairiga maintained that the current leadership will resist any attempt to displace them, vowing to explore all legitimate avenues to retain control.
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“This will not happen. We will pursue all lawful avenues to ensure that the party structure is not hijacked,” he added.
Mr Mai Riga further alleged that the NDC’s national leadership directed the suspension of the scheduled state congress in Kano to facilitate Mr Kwankwaso’s integration and takeover.
The directive followed the former governor’s official entry into the party just 24 hours prior.
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“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 stated.
Mr Kwankwaso arrived in Kano on Monday and is expected to meet with key allies to discuss electoral strategies and congresses of the NDC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, Mai Riga said the former governor was yet to formally engage with the state executive committee. Instead, he said Mr Kwankwaso directed his former kano deputy governor, Aminu Abdussalam, to handle discussions with the existing leadership.
Efforts to reach Mr Kwankwaso or his media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, for comments were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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