Alhaji Abass Onilewura, a chieftain of the New Nigerian People Party NNPP has blamed the former presidential candidate of the party and former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for being responsible for the loss of the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf at the tribunal.
WikkiTimes had reported that the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had on Wednesday, sacked Abba of NNPP and declared the APC candidate, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, winner of the March 18 governorship election
The three-man panel, led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to withdraw the Certificate of Return earlier presented to Governor Abba.
Just in: Kano Tribunal Sacks Gov Yusuf, Declares APC’s Gawuna Winner
Responding to the judgment, Onilewura in a statement on Thursday, stated that Kwankwaso allegedly sold out NNPP to the ruling All Progressives Congress to negotiate for a ministerial slot in the President Bola Tinubu-led government.
He stressed that the former NNPP flagbearer’s alleged involvement in anti-party activities led to the big loss the party is fronting with the declaration of the Tribunal in Kano.
“This loss is a big one for us at NNPP and it only happened because of the selfishness of Kwankwaso who sold the party to the highest bidder. While we are still waiting for the Certified True Copy of the Tribunal judgment, the world needs to know that this would not have happened if Kwankwaso had allowed due process and given the ticket to the most qualified candidate.
“Our investigation also showed that the continuous engagement of Kwankwaso with APC at some point gave room for them to discover loopholes which were later used against the Kano governor to secure victory for the opposition.
“It is unfortunate that some of us sweat to get the party to where it is today, only for someone like Kwankwaso to come and make all our efforts a waste. We are happy that someone like that has been deposed from this great party.
“We also want to use this avenue to warn him to stay clear of NNPP, we don’t want a betrayal in our party and we would do anything humanly possible to secure our party from hijackers who are more concerned about personal gain.
“I will also urge our members across the country to remain calm because a new leadership has taken over the party and we would do everything to restore the glory of our party. NNPP will come out to become a strong voice and opposition that would stand for justice, equity, and good governance.”
