The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) says it would be in alliance with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the presidential election.

NNPP National Publicity Party, Ladipo Johnson, disclosed this on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, ahead of the 2027 general polls.

He disclosed that despite the defection of its 2023 presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, from the party, the NNPP would still participate in the next general elections.

“The NNPP will continue to contest elections. Although at that level, we will be in alignment with the ADC towards the presidential elections and maybe some of the national elections, but we are going to have candidates down the ballot,” Johnson stated.

According to the NNPP spokesman, several talks were held with the opposition leaders before Kwankwaso, a former two-term governor of Kano State, decided to pitch his tent with the ADC.

When asked if Kwankwaso’s exit from the NNPP would spell doom for the party, he replied in the negative.

Johnson explained that opposition leaders are working in the interest of Nigerians, arguing that Kwankwaso would officially register as an ADC member in Kano State later today (Monday).

“There were a lot of discussions going on. Finally, some of the opposition leaders have come together and decided that it will best serve their purposes and that of Nigerians for them to come together under one platform to offer themselves as an alternative towards 2027.

“He resigned from the New Nigeria Peoples Party and will cross over to the ADC today in Kano State,” Johnson stated.

Kwankwaso’s planned defection followed weeks of intense consultations between the former Kano governor, leaders of the Kwankwasiyya movement, and top figures within the ADC.

In recent weeks, the presidential hopeful has held a series of high-level meetings with key opposition stakeholders as part of efforts to forge a broader political coalition capable of challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Last week, Kwankwaso met with party leaders and stakeholders in Kano State, further consolidating internal support for the move.

He also had talks with prominent political figures, including the ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola; the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi; Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; and the senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson.

Political observers described the move as part of a wider opposition strategy to build a formidable alliance ahead of 2027, to unseat the APC at the federal level.

The latest development comes amid a deepening rift between Kwankwaso and his estranged political godson and Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf.

Yusuf, long regarded as a key beneficiary of the Kwankwasiyya movement, recently defected from the NNPP to the APC alongside several lawmakers and political appointees.

Kwankwaso, however, publicly opposed the move, distancing himself from the defection and describing it as a betrayal, a stance that has further exposed cracks within the movement he built over the years. (Channels)