Following the recent Appeal Court judgment, Musa Ilyasu Kwankwaso, an APC leader and former Commissioner for Rural and Community Development under Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has levelled accusations against the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) for allegedly inciting political violence in Kano State.
Addressing the media on Thursday in response to protests that swept through the state on Wednesday, Kwankwaso claimed that the NNPP, in collaboration with the Kwankwasiyya movement, disseminated false information and sponsored protests, violating the peace accord both parties had signed.
Despite NNPP supporters staging protests across Kano, demanding the “restoration of mandate voided by election petition tribunal,” Kwankwaso insisted that the peace and tranquillity prevailing in Kano contradicts the alleged tension.
According to Kwankwaso, these protests were orchestrated to create a false sense of unrest in the state.
He urged the NNPP-led government to refrain from wasting resources on sponsoring protests and advised them to await the Supreme Court’s judgment instead.
Kwankwaso dismissed NNPP’s plea for intervention from the United States, European Union, and African Union as futile and a diversion of resources.
NNPP’s Acting National Chairman, Abba Kawu Ali, led protesters to the embassies of the US, EU, and AU in Abuja, alleging tribunal compromise and affirming Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s legitimate victory.
In response to Kwankwaso’s allegations, Abdullahi Maikanon, an NNPP chieftain in the state, defended the protests as a constitutionally guaranteed right. He accused Kwankwaso of receiving financial benefits whenever he falsely accused NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya movement.
Maikanon argued that the presence of security agencies during the protests indicated no intent to instigate a crisis. He highlighted the dissatisfaction of Kano residents, pro-democracy groups, and civil society organizations with the court’s verdict overturning the popular will.
“The intervention of the US, EU, and others is sought to right the wrong,” Maikanon added