The Leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and its 2023 Presidential candidate, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said that he will only rejoin the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if he his allowed to move in with his Kwankwasiyya Movement.

Senator Kwankwaso said he is open to rejoining the APC again, “but only on the basis of clear agreements that guarantee recognition for my political movement, the Kwankwasiyya”.

Speaking during a meeting with NNPP stakeholders in Kano recently, Dr Kwankwaso insisted that his Kwankwasiyya Movement matters a lot to him and he cannot abandon his People for anything.

Kwankwaso recalled his role in the formation of the APC, stressing that he and his allies paid the price to build the party but were sidelined throughout its eight years in power under President Muhammadu Buhari.

“If you said I should enter APC, I want to join APC, and I didn’t say I will not join APC even now, but for what position?” Kwankwaso asked.

He added, “We are the ones who established the APC. We are the leaders of the APC. We challenged the federal government then and faced many threats from the EFCC, ICPC, police, SSS, and others. But when the APC came to power, they gave us nothing—not even a thank you—because our faction of the PDP didn’t start with them.”

Kwankwaso said his group was also neglected by the PDP when they returned, noting that the party could not even offer him a zonal chairman position. According to him, the experience gave his movement more political value and independence.

“We’re not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we’re happy. However, if there is anyone who wants to work with us truthfully and will not abandon us as before, we are ready,” he said. “Even if the PDP comes back and says they made a mistake, let’s make promises where everyone can see them.”

Kwankwaso, a former defence minister and two-time presidential candidate, emphasised that his political structure is now a force that cannot be ignored in Nigerian politics.