Rep. Kabiru Rurum Rejects Kwankwaso’s Faction, Backs NNPP Founder Boniface Aniebonam

Rt. Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, the lawmaker representing Rano/Kibiya/Bunkure Federal Constituency, has publicly distanced himself from Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), pledging his allegiance instead to the camp led by the party’s founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam.

Rurum, a former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, made the announcement on Sunday, affirming that he recognizes the NNPP under Dr. Aniebonam—symbolized by a fruit logo—as the authentic leadership, dismissing Kwankwaso’s faction, which operates under a book logo.

He also urged Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to assert his leadership independently without taking instructions from Kwankwaso.

“My loyalty remains with Governor Yusuf,” Rurum said, reassuring the people of Kano that the governor is fully capable of making the right decisions for the state.

Responding to speculation about a possible defection, Rurum maintained his commitment to the NNPP under Dr. Aniebonam’s leadership, accusing Kwankwaso of hijacking the party for personal gain.

“Dr. Boniface provided Kwankwaso with a platform, and it is wrong to take the party from him and treat him unfairly,” he said.

Following Rurum’s declaration, another lawmaker representing Dala Federal Constituency also announced his departure from the Kwankwasiyya movement, urging supporters to abandon the symbolic red cap, long associated with Kwankwasiyya’s ideology.

These developments come after a recent ruling by the Uzuakoli Division of the High Court in Abia State, presided over by Justice C.U. Okoroafor. On November 1, 2024, the court ordered that the NNPP be placed under the control of its Board of Trustees, chaired by Dr. Boniface Aniebonam.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by three NNPP members from Abia State, seeking to resolve the party’s ongoing leadership crisis.