Senator quits NNPP, set to rejoin APC

The rank of the opposition has continued to deplete as Kano South Senator Kawu Sumaila has resigned from the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and is set to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The lawmaker said the move was driven by his “unwavering commitment to the welfare of his constituents.

“I am resolutely determined to advance the lives of my people, ensuring their needs are met, and their future is secured,” he said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Mr Sumaila didn’t mention the party he is joining while announcing his resignation from the NNPP, but he is expected to rejoin the opposition APC in Kano after months of speculation and a leadership crisis in the NNPP in Kano.

In February, the NNPP leadership suspended Mr Sumaila and other federal lawmakers from Kano. However, they rejected the sanction, saying they belong to a different NNPP faction.

The suspension followed Mr Sumaila’s invitation of the National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, to his personal ceremonies in the Sumaila Local Government Area.

Mr Sumaila defected from the APC in the build-up to the 2023 elections following a protracted leadership crisis in the party.

He and several of his colleagues from the NNPP in Kano South had opposed Governor Abba Yusuf’s reinstatement of the deposed Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, and the repeal of the State Emirate Council Law 2019 that gave the state five emirate councils.

The lawmakers from the Kano southern district said the dissolution of the four emirates created by former Governor Ganduje and the removal of all five emirs were against the interest of their constituents.

Since then, Mr Sumaila and some of his NNPP colleagues from the zone have distanced themselves from the activities of the NNPP-led state government.

The NNPP is Nigeria’s fourth-largest political party based on representation in federal and state parliaments. However, Kano is the main base of the party and is the only state it was elected to govern.

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