The Vice Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has been accused of attempting to take control of the party’s structure in the North-West region.
The allegation was made in a statement jointly signed by the party’s North-West Vice Chairman, Mohammed Rabiu Serina, and the Kano State Chairman, Hussaini Isa Mariga.
The party officials accused the former Kano State governor of sidelining members who are not affiliated with the Kwankwasiyya movement and preventing them from contesting elective positions on the party’s platform.
Serina and Mariga, who described themselves as founding members of the NDC, said they were appointed by the party’s National Leader, Henry Seriake Dickson, before the party’s registration and were later confirmed as substantive officers through congresses and the national convention.
They further stated that they played key roles in establishing and strengthening the party’s structures across Kano State and the wider North-West region before Kwankwaso and his supporters joined the party.
According to them, tensions began when Kwankwaso allegedly sought complete control of the party’s structure in Kano State during the state congresses.
“The dispute prompted the intervention of the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, who convened a meeting and brokered an agreement granting Kwankwaso and his supporters 60 per cent control of the party structure in Kano, while the existing party leadership retained 40 per cent,” the statement said.
The officials maintained that the arrangement was reached to preserve unity within the party and accommodate all stakeholders.
