By Peter Onyekachukwu By Peter Onyekachukwu, Warri
KANO: The lingering crisis within the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano has deepened as Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, the lawmaker representing Rano, Kibiya, and Bunkure Federal Constituency, dismissed his suspension, calling it baseless and a violation of court rulings.
Reacting to the suspension notice issued by Kano NNPP Chairman, Hashim Sulaiman Dungurawa, Rurum maintained that he and his allies remain members of the NNPP faction that retained the fruit and basket logo, distancing themselves from the faction that altered the party’s emblem.
“The world knows that since they changed the party’s logo, we have not been with them. We are in the NNPP with the fruit and basket logo, while they are with the book logo. We also have a court judgment that dismissed their claims,” Rurum stated.
He accused the Kano NNPP leadership of disregarding legal rulings, adding that his group has consistently emerged victorious in court.
“What they did is a contempt of court. They are not legitimate party leaders. After our victory, they took us to an Abia High Court, and even this week, we were in court again. They are deceiving Nigerians,” he said.
Rurum linked the suspension to the recent wedding ceremony of Senator Kawu Sumaila’s daughter, an event attended by prominent Nigerians but snubbed by key NNPP figures, including the party’s national leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
“The real issue disturbing them, which shouldn’t even be politicized, is the wedding of Senator Kawu Sumaila’s daughter. Honourable Nigerians were in attendance, and all of them, including Kwankwaso, were invited, but they refused to show up,” he alleged.
Dismissing the suspension as irrelevant, Rurum insisted that his faction operates independently.
“Everybody in this country knows we are on two different lanes. They have only suspended themselves because we are not with them,” he declared.
His remarks underscore the widening divide within the NNPP, with legal battles and political tensions fueling uncertainty over the party’s future in Kano and beyond.