Some loyal members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Oyo State to Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso have denied involvement in a group that recently declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election.
The members, in a joint statement made available to journalists, described as mischievous a report claiming that some individuals purportedly representing the Southwest Kwankwasiyya faction had joined the JDS Movement and declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Sharafadeen Alli and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.
They said the Oyo State Kwankwasiyya Movement had never aligned with the APC or any of its candidates and would not do so.
The statement reads: ‘The individuals claiming to represent our group acted entirely on their own volition without the knowledge, consent, or authority of the party and the movement in Oyo State.
‘Let it be stated in the strongest possible terms: that we are collapsing the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement in Oyo State into the OK Movement and the Kwankwaso National Mobilization (KNM).
‘This is our collective decision, and it is irreversible. We shall not be distracted by the antics of political jobbers who are desperately seeking relevance by auctioning the mandate of the people to the highest bidder.
‘We call on all our members, supporters, and the good people of Oyo State to disregard any information saying we have shifted our support to President Tinubu. We continue to stand firm with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.’
The loyalists said they had deliberately withheld their mandate and endorsement due to the possibility of an impending alliance involving political parties across Nigeria in support of their principal.