Claims of Kwankwaso overreaching in APC negotiations are lies –NNPP

The New Nigeria Peoples Party has dismissed reports claiming that its national leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, overreached himself during alleged negotiations to defect to the All Progressives Congress.

The party said Kwankwaso never held discussions with President Bola Tinubu about joining the APC, contrary to reports circulating in some quarters.

Speculation about Kwankwaso’s political future intensified following the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, to the APC, with claims that the NNPP leadership fell out with the former governor over what were described as his “high demands” in talks with the ruling party.

Speaking on Arise TV on Friday, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Global Investment and Trade Company, Baba Yusuf, alleged that Kwankwaso misjudged his political relevance in the reported negotiations with the APC.

“I will agree with the second outcome you mentioned — that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso overreached,” Yusuf said.

However, the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, strongly denied the claims, insisting that no such negotiations ever took place.

In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Johnson said Kwankwaso never contemplated defecting to the APC and did not make any demands of the party or the president.

“It is a blatant lie that Kwankwaso made demands or entered into negotiations with the APC or Tinubu for his defection. That never happened,” he said.

Johnson added that the last meeting between Kwankwaso and President Tinubu took place in 2024 and did not involve discussions about defection.

“The people spreading these lies are doing so deliberately to discredit him. They do not want him to join other opposition forces,” he said.

He described Kwankwaso as a man of integrity who plays politics in the interest of the general public.