Controversy as Ganduje, Jibrin attend opposition senator’s events in Kano

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Controversy has arisen over the attendance of Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje at an opposition senator’s private ceremony in Kano.

Recall that the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) senator Kawu Sumaila, who represented Kano South, left the APC before the 2023 elections due to a protracted leadership dispute inside the party.

Mr. Jibrin revealed in a statement on Friday that he was the leader of a group of federal MPs that went to Mr. Sumaila’s children’s wedding.

“Today, (21 February), I led the Senate delegation to the wedding ceremony of Senator Sulaiman Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila’s and Alhaji Abdulmanaf Yunusa Sarina’s children in Sumaila town, Kano State,” he stated.

He added that Professor Salisu Shehu, the Imam of Sumaila Jumaat Mosque, officiated the ceremonies, which brought Dr. Khadija Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila and Faisal Abdulmanaf Sarina together, and Maryam Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila and Bello Ibrahim Ma’aji together.

“The National Chairman of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, CFR, also attended the wedding. May Allah bless their union and give them patience, endurance, tolerance, and love. Congratulations to the newlyweds,” Mr. Jibrin posted.

The first convocation of Al-Istiqama University, a private university purportedly established by Mr. Sumaila in Kano State’s Sumaila Local Government Area, was also attended by Mr. Jibrin and Mr. Ganduje on Saturday.

Their involvement in these gatherings has caused tension inside the NNPP, especially on social media, which has fueled rumors that Mr. Sumaila might be thinking about rejoining the APC. Party members have questioned the senator’s decision to welcome opposition figures, such as former Kano governor Ibrahim Shekarau of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while excluding Governor Abba Yusuf and Rabiu Kwankwaso, the leader of the NNPP.

Since Mr. Sumaila’s known phone number was unreachable on Saturday night, attempts to contact him for comment were fruitless.

Governor Yusuf had previously argued with Mr. Sumaila and a number of Kano South NNPP MPs over the reinstatement of Lamido Sanusi, the ousted Emir of Kano, and the revocation of the 2019 State Emirate Council Law, which constituted five emirate councils. Asserting that it was against the interests of their constituents to remove all five emirs, the MPs opposed the dissolution of the four emirates established under previous Governor Ganduje.

Mr. Sumaila and a few of his associates have now cut ties with the state government, which is governed by the NNPP.

Mr. Sumaila would become one of the increasing number of opposition lawmakers to defect to the ruling party if he joined the APC.

Kano, the only state it controls, is the bastion of the NNPP, which is currently Nigeria’s fourth-largest political party by parliamentary representation.

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, its presidential contender in the 2023 election, only won in Kano State after finishing fourth.

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