The North-west Stakeholders Forum of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has threatened legal action against former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who is currently the vice-presidential running mate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The forum accused Mr Kwankwaso of purchasing nomination forms for all 69 elective positions within the PRP, allegedly using a non-party proxy to execute the plot.
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Addressing journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Kano, the chairperson of the PRP forum, Abdulkadir Musa, described the development as a coordinated assault on internal democracy.
According to Mr Musa, the sweeping purchase covers crucial slots, including the governorship ticket, National Assembly seats, and State House of Assembly seats.
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“It has been confirmed that nomination forms for all 69 elective positions under the platform of the PRP have been purchased by one individual who is not even a member of our party,” Mr Musa revealed.
Mr Musa directly linked the move to Mr Kwankwaso, believing that the strategy was designed to block genuine PRP members from contesting the upcoming elections.
He noted that the party had already selected credible candidates by consensus and vowed that their political rights would be fiercely protected.
“We appeal to Rabiu Kwankwaso to allow political parties to operate independently and democratically. The PRP should be spared from what we consider a deliberate attempt to interfere with its internal affairs,” Mr Musa stated.
He warned that “should this continue, legal action will be our only option in defending the integrity and independence of our party.”
Kwankwasiyya fires back
However, in a swift reaction, the Kwankwasiyya movement dismissed the allegations, labelling them as baseless, politically motivated, and a distraction allegedly sponsored by political opponents.
Kwankwasiyya’s spokesperson, Habibu Mailemu, questioned the credibility of the PRP forum, suggesting they were acting as proxies for the Kano State government.
“We believe this is just the work of the state government because they are scared of the rising profile of the NDC in Kano and even across the northern part of the country,” Mr Mailemu said.
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Mr Mailemu also highlighted what he termed a logical loophole in the PRP forum’s claims, arguing that the accusation reflects poorly on the PRP’s own leadership if such a transaction actually took place.
“For somebody to tell you that a political party sold all its nomination forms to someone who is not even a member of that party—whether Kwankwaso or whoever—it tells you what kind of political party it is,” he argued, challenging the national leadership of the PRP to clarify the matter.
Mr Mailemu maintained that their leader, Mr Kwankwaso, remains unfazed by the allegations and is strictly focused on expanding the NDC’s political frontiers and strengthening its structure across the North-west region ahead of the polls.
