Crisis rocks NNPP in Kano as party suspends SSG, Commissioner

A fresh crisis has rocked the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, in Kano State as the party Monday night suspended the Secretary to the Kano State Government, SSG, Abdullahi Baffa-Bichi, and the Commissioner of Transportation, Muhammad Diggol.

the crisis may not be unconnected with a renagade group that emerge in the party’s fold as well as internal wranglings among stakeholders of the party in Bichi Local Government Area of the state.

The Ssate party chairman, Hashimu Dungurawa, who confirmed the suspension to newsmen, said the action was taken, following alleged disloyalty, abuse of power and creating chaos in the party.

He said: “Today, we are announcing that we have suspended the SSG, Abdullahi Baffa Bichi and the Commissioner of Transportation, Muhammad Diggol over abuse of power, abuse of office and disloyalty to the party.

“We commend the leadership of the party at wards and the Local Government (Bichi North) who confirmed to us and brought the issue forward to us in writing.

“In our capacity as leaders of the party, we sat and considered this as the best decision in order to allow investigation on the issue,” Mr Dungurawa stated.

the suspension came hours after the state governor, Abba Yusuf, held a meeting to broker peace between the two warring parties.

A statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Dawakin-Tofa, said: “The successful reconciliation held behind a close door at the governor’s office Monday evening has put to rest the lingering crisis rocking the internal structure of the party.”

He said the key figures involved in the reconciliation include Mr Baffa-Bichi, and the Bichi local government chairmanship candidate, Hamza Sule Maifata.

Addressing journalists after the closed-door meeting, the SSG accepted the intervention of the governor and promised to resolve his difference with the factional group in his Bichi constituency and groups claiming to be his critics.

Mr Baffa-Bichi subsequently dissociated himself from a Kwankwasiyya factional group, Abba Tsaya da Kafar Ka, which calls on the governor to sever administrative ties with his godfather. Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Mr Bichi said further that, “I have since submitted myself and all my activities to Governor Abba Yusuf as our leader and accepted all that he wanted, I am ready to abide by that. On the factional group they are talking about, I have nothing to do with them.”

On the issue of reconciliation, he said, the governor has already intervened and everything is over.

“We are all his loyalists and we are ready to abide by whatever he wants,” Mr Bichi said.

On his part, the chairmanship candidate of the NNPP in Bichi Local Government Area, Mr Maifata, also expressed commitment to embrace peace and settle his differences with the SSG.

“We have sat today with the governor, SSG and other stakeholders and we have voiced our grievances which we later came to understand that it was just being peddled by rumour mongers and enemies of the party.

“We have now forgiven each other and embraced peace. We would now work together like we used to and this reconciliation brokered by the governor has put it out permanently.

“And I want to promise the governor, our party leaders and other stakeholders, including the leadership of the House of Assembly especially the Speaker, that everything has been put behind bars. I appreciate the intervention of the governor and all those that brought the matter up for reconciliation,” Mr Maifata said.