A new political crisis has emerged within the Kano State chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) following allegations that former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is attempting to take full control of the party’s structure in the state.

The accusations were contained in a petition submitted to the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, by the NDC North-West Vice Chairman, Mohammed Serina, and the Kano State Chairman, Hussaini Mariga. The officials accused Kwankwaso of sidelining party members who are not affiliated with the Kwankwasiyya movement.

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According to Serina, the party initially welcomed Kwankwaso and his supporters into the NDC in good faith after extensive consultations. He stated that Dickson had directed party officials to cooperate fully with the former governor to strengthen the party’s position in Kano State.

“Following our confirmation, we were entrusted with the responsibility of building and strengthening the party’s structures across our respective jurisdictions,” Serina said. “We diligently discharged this responsibility until the entry of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his supporters into the party.”

However, tensions reportedly began during the state congresses when Kwankwaso allegedly attempted to assume total control of the Kano party structure. Serina explained that party officials resisted the move in the interest of fairness and inclusiveness.

He revealed that the dispute was temporarily resolved after a meeting hosted by Dickson, where an agreement was reached granting Kwankwaso and his supporters 60 per cent control of the party structure, while existing party stakeholders retained 40 per cent.

Despite the earlier agreement, the crisis allegedly resurfaced during the party’s nomination process. Serina and Mariga claimed that after nomination forms were handed over to Kwankwaso, aspirants outside the Kwankwasiyya movement were denied access to the forms.

“Unfortunately, despite repeated engagements, Senator Kwankwaso refused to allow access to nomination forms by party members outside the Kwankwasiyya group,” the petition stated.

The party officials alleged that none of the 40 State House of Assembly forms, 24 House of Representatives forms, three senatorial forms, and the governorship form were allocated to non-Kwankwasiyya aspirants.

Serina further claimed that he personally appealed to Kwankwaso to release a small number of forms to other stakeholders while leaving senatorial slots under his control, but the request was allegedly rejected.

The petition warned that the exclusion of non-Kwankwasiyya members was creating widespread dissatisfaction within the party. “It is our position that no individual possesses an exclusive monopoly over political wisdom or electoral viability in Kano State,” Serina declared.

The officials also alleged that prominent politicians who joined the NDC independently, including former House of Representatives member Nasiru Ahmed and former Kano governor Kabiru Gaya, were affected by the nomination controversy.

Additionally, they accused Kwankwaso of threatening to leave the NDC if he was not granted complete control of the Kano structure. “We are not members of the Kwankwasiyya movement, and we cannot accept a situation in which membership of a particular political group becomes the sole criterion for participation,” the statement added.

Reacting to the claims, the Kwankwasiyya Movement dismissed the allegations as false and misleading. Speaking with Punch, the movement’s spokesman, Habibu Muhammed, insisted that no aspirant was denied access to nomination forms.

“Nobody was denied sale of forms because it is the party and not the Kwankwasiyya that sells forms,” Muhammed said. “We were all there and witnessed everything up to the consensus day.”

He suggested that those making the allegations might be attempting to bypass established party procedures. Muhammed added that the movement had no intention of escalating tensions further.

A loyalist of Kwankwaso, who spoke anonymously, also dismissed the accusations, claiming that some party officials were frustrated because their alleged irregular activities were being stopped.

The crisis now threatens to deepen divisions within the Kano NDC ahead of future political contests, with both sides standing firmly by their positions.