NDC Leaders Accuse Kwankwaso Of Hijacking Northwest Party Structure

The Vice Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has been accused of taking over the party’s structure in the North-West and sidelining members who are not affiliated with the Kwankwasiyya  movement.

The allegation was made in a statement jointly signed by the NDC Northwest Vice Chairman, Mohammed Rabiu Serina, and the Kano State Chairman, Hussaini Isa Mariga.

The party officials claimed that Kwankwaso has been excluding non-Kwankwasiyya members from contesting elective positions on the party’splatform.

Serina and Mariga, who described themselves as founding members of the NDC, stated that they were appointed by the party’s National Leader and former Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, before the party’s registration. They noted that their appointments were later ratified through congresses and the party’s national convention.

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According to them, they played a key role in establishing and expanding the party’s structures across Kano State and the wider North-West region long before Kwankwaso and his supporters joined the party.

The officials alleged that tensions began when the former Kano State governor sought full control of the party structure in Kano during the state congresses.

According to the statement, the disagreement attracted the intervention of the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, who convened a reconciliation meeting to resolve the crisis.

They said the meeting resulted in an agreement under which Kwankwaso and his supporters were allocated 60 per cent control of the party structure in Kano State, while the original party leadership retained 40 per cent.

Despite the agreement, the party officials alleged that efforts were still being made to dominate the party machinery and marginalise members who are not aligned with the Kwankwasiyya political movement.

The development is expected to intensify internal tensions within the NDC as preparations continue ahead of future elections.