A former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Tuesday ended speculations about his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party when he finally left the party for the New Nigeria Peoples Party and registered as a member in preparation for the 2023 election.
He registered for the NNPP and obtained its membership card during a brief ceremony in Abuja.
According to him, he was leaving PDP because of the failure of its leadership and lack of internal democracy.
The former Minister of Defence during a press conference held in Abuja said that in 2021 he was sidelined from the activities of the PDP and waited for the leadership of party to talk to him for over one year but got no response.
He said Nigerians were not satisfied with the achievements recorded under the ruling All Programme, and so are yearning for positive change in the state of the nation.
He said, “Today, those who are not certain (about where I belong) will be very sure that I am already in NNPP.
“Politicians like my humble self are always open. In addition, there are ideological differences that we have with so many people, especially the leaders in PDP and even in the APC itself.
“We had a situation in April last year where zonal positions were being shared among the States, and all leaders in the six other states were given the opportunity to nominate.
“In Kano, some people thought I wasn’t that important. So, they had to do it the way they wanted. That was what triggered the issue (of decamping). And, I spent almost one year now waiting for the PDP to talk to me. Even the new leadership does not want to talk to me.
“For that reason, I felt that there are irreconcilable differences between myself and many of the leaders. This is mainly based on ideology.
“We believe in the masses of this country and that people should be given an opportunity not minding their ethnic or religious affiliation. That’s why we have the ‘Third Force’ party today.
“Everybody wants a new Nigeria because nobody is happy with the status quo. I believe this country requires a positive change.
“I just registered. Probably I am the newest member of the NNPP. The name of the party is New Nigeria People’s Party.
“I am happy that all of us are witnessing this moment. I am sure you remember earlier today (Tuesday) I resigned and withdrew my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“I have to say that I am very delighted, especially going by what we are seeing in both parties. I am sure you know that I was one of the founding members of PDP in 1998. By 1999 I was governor of Kano State.”
Speaking on the recent attack in Kaduna State, he said, “I want to appeal to the Federal Government to make a statement on the Kaduna attacks.
“Government should be seen to be doing something. We learnt that so many people were maimed and taken into the bush and we hear nothing from the government.
“Some of them voted for the president and everybody. So, we have to come and stand against insecurity and the economy and so on. If you look at these parties they have no ideologies; everybody is just there to make the maximum benefits during elections.”
