In the current by-elections for the Kano Municipal and Ungogo State Assembly, the Kwankwasiyya Movement has maintained that it supported the children of two members who passed away out of compassion and respect rather than political cynicism.
The terrible deaths of the two MPs, who represented Kano Municipal and Ungogo seats, have left a great gap inside the movement and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), according to a press release published on Saturday by the movement’s spokesperson, Habibu Sale Mohammed.
This constituency’s sitting representatives tragically passed away on the same day, Mohammed lamented.
“Until their passing, both were devoted members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and were elected on the platform of the NNPP.”
While people were grieving over the loss of these MPs, he said, the national leader of the movement thought it was morally right to back the candidacy of their children as candidates.
He went on to say that the party had reached a consensus on the matter and that its leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, had felt it was morally right to back the nomination of their children as party flag bearers out of compassion, continuity, and respect for their sacrifices.
After the governor of Kano State defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), nevertheless, the political scene changed.
A House Leader in Ungogo Local Government and a Senior Special Assistant to the governor for Kano Municipal were among the candidates whose nominations were allegedly submitted under the APC flag on the eve of the final submission of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“A sudden reversal occurred only after sensing public backlash and widespread disapproval,” he claimed.
“Under intense political pressure, the individuals who had been nominated under the NNPP were adopted as the flag bearers of the APC, and they were forced to resign from their membership in the NNPP.”
Mohammed claimed that Kwankwaso remained in his former role despite the development.
Respecting the grieving families and displaying his trademark statesmanship, our nation’s leader decided to stick to his original position.
“He insisted that, regardless of their current political affiliation, the children of the deceased members should be granted the opportunity to run for the State Assembly,” he explained.
In addition, he revealed that the NNPP had purposefully not replaced the candidates’ names following their departure from the party.
“This action clearly demonstrates that there is only one recognised and legitimate NNPP structure in the state,” Mohammed stated of the situation.
The group’s endorsed candidates would have been shown on the ballot had there been another legitimate group, contrary to what others have asserted.
He made it clear that INEC’s official records and ballot papers show that the by-elections did not include any NNPP candidates, which should “put to rest all speculation and misinformation.”
Honesty, fairness, compassion, and reverence for the lives lost by our brothers and sisters in the Kwankwasiyya Movement are the guiding principles that have never changed. Additionally, he emphasised that the public should ignore efforts to manipulate the facts for partisan gain.