The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) group led by Shehu Sagagi has defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Sunusi Tofa, a spokesperson for the NNPP campaign council, made this claim in a statement on Sunday.
A ceremony in Kano was arranged to officially welcome the decampees to the NNPP by Isaac Idahosa, the party's vice presidential candidate, and party national chairman Rufai Alkali.
According to Sagagi, who was quoted, the PDP's national leadership disbanded the group because it had sufficient internal democracy and was overly cordial with its members.
Together with 36 state executive members, more than 700 local government executives, 8,000 ward executives, 44 national delegates, and 1452 ward delegates, Sagagi said he was pleased to rejoin the PDP.
He said, “Politics is a game of numbers; we are optimistic that the NNPP Presidential Candidate, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, will take us to victory at both national and state levels.
“The PDP sabotaged itself in states like Kano by allowing the likes of Sen. Kwankwaso to defect despite his massive followership in the state and the nation at large.
“To us, this is a homecoming, we are real politicians and we have joined a political party that plays real politics. I am happy to rejoin Sen. Kwankwaso once again a year after our departure.”
In his speech, Rufai Alkali, the national chairman of the NNPP, praised the people who left the PDP and joined the NNPP for making an intelligent choice.