A fresh political disagreement is brewing within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kano State as the party chairman, Usaini Isa Mai Riga, has insisted that former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, will not be handed control of the party structure in the state.

In an interview on Monday, M so h Riga said early consultations held with Kwankwaso ahead of his entry into the party ended without agreement, despite two separate meetings aimed at reaching a compromise.

According to him, Kwankwaso allegedly demanded full control of the party structure, a request the current leadership rejected.

“He wants us to hand over the entire party to him, despite the sacrifices and time we invested in nurturing it when it had little or no attention,” he said.

Mai Riga maintained that the request was unacceptable, adding that the existing leadership would resist any attempt to take over the party structure.

“This will not happen. We will pursue all legitimate avenues to ensure that Kwankwaso does not take over the party structure from us,” he added.

He further revealed that the party’s national leadership had instructed the suspension of a planned state congress in Kano, a decision he linked to Kwankwaso’s recent entry into the party.

“We were asked not to hold our congress because there are plans to hand over the party to Kwankwaso,” he said.

Mai Riga also stressed that the decision was unfair to long-standing members who helped build the party from its early stages, insisting that internal democracy must be respected.

He added that while Kwankwaso has now joined the party, there has been no formal engagement with the Kano State leadership on leadership structure or candidate selection.

Efforts to get a response from Kwankwaso or his representatives were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.