Factional chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Mas’ud Eljibril, has called on Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to formally notify the “legally recognised” NNPP in writing before defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Eljibril, whose faction was affirmed by court rulings last year as the authentic NNPP, said Governor Yusuf remains a bona fide member of the party and must comply with established party procedures if he intends to leave.
Speaking at a press conference in Kano, Eljibril presented copies of multiple court judgments to journalists, insisting that the NNPP faction using a basket with fruits as its logo—chaired by him in Kano—is the only legally recognised structure of the party.
“Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is still a bona fide member of the NNPP that has a basket with fruits as its logo,” Eljibril said.
He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to respect and enforce the court rulings that settled the leadership dispute within the party.
“Secondly, we are calling on INEC to respect the judgments of all the courts that were delivered last year on this issue,” he added.
Eljibril said while the governor has the constitutional right to join any political party of his choice, he must first submit a formal letter of resignation to the NNPP.
“We owe him respect. But if he wants to leave, he has the legal right to do so. However, he must formally tender his resignation to the party, which we are yet to receive,” he said.
“To be a member of any political party is an individual decision. If he decides to leave, it is his choice, but it must be done according to the rules and regulations of the party.”
The factional NNPP also warned that ignoring this requirement could have legal implications in the future, especially if the Supreme Court eventually affirms the faction’s legitimacy.
Meanwhile, the rival NNPP faction, which uses books as its party logo, is grappling with its own internal crisis, resulting in the emergence of two parallel state chairmen.
As tensions deepen over Governor Yusuf’s anticipated defection to the APC, the former NNPP state chairman, Hashimu Dungurawa—a known ally of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso—was reportedly removed at the governor’s prompting.
He was swiftly replaced by Abdullahi Zubairu Abiya, further underscoring the growing turmoil within the NNPP ahead of major political realignments in Kano State.