Kwankwaso Finally Speaks As Defection Rumours Rock NDC Amid Kano Power Struggle

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has responded for the first time to reports suggesting he may leave the National Democratic Congress (NDC) amid growing tensions within the party.
The NDC vice-presidential candidate dismissed concerns of an imminent defection by drawing attention to ongoing party activities and consultations.
In a post shared on his official X account on Monday night, Kwankwaso revealed that he hosted NDC candidates from Kogi State at his Abuja residence, describing the meeting as productive and focused on strategies for electoral success.
“This evening, I hosted a highly productive meeting with the NDC candidates from Kogi State at my residence in Abuja. We had robust deliberations on the way forward and concrete strategies for our collective victory,” he wrote.
His comments came as the Kwankwasiyya Movement also moved to shut down speculation that its leader was planning to quit the party over disputes surrounding candidate selection.
Speaking on Monday, the movement’s spokesperson, Habibu Sale Mohammed, described the reports as unfounded rumours, insisting that neither Kwankwaso nor the movement had indicated any intention to leave the NDC.
According to Mohammed, the party’s primary elections were successfully conducted on May 29 in line with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, with consensus candidates emerging and their names submitted without issues.
He maintained that the NDC national leadership remains the appropriate authority to address any speculation regarding internal party affairs.
The rumours emerged against the backdrop of a crisis within the Kano chapter of the NDC. Party leaders recently revised a list of local candidates to enforce a controversial 60-40 power-sharing arrangement between the Kwankwasiyya bloc and the party’s founding structure.
A document signed by Kano State NDC Chairman, Hussaini Isah Mairiga, confirmed that changes were made to correct what was described as a breach of the original agreement. The arrangement reportedly allocated 60 percent of party positions and elective tickets to the Kwankwasiyya camp, while the founding members retained 40 percent.
The revised list, already forwarded to the party’s national leadership, reportedly replaced several aspirants aligned with Kwankwaso across various state and federal constituencies.
The latest development comes only weeks after Kwankwaso and NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi defected from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to form a joint ticket under the NDC ahead of the 2027 general election.