The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has disputed a report by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, which revealed that at least 20 of the party’s candidates in the upcoming Kano State local government election tested positive for various drugs.
Chairman of the NNPP in Kano, Hashimu Sulaiman Dungurawa, disputed the report in an interview with NewsNGR on Thursday.
The Kano State government had in 2018 approved compulsory drug tests for political appointees, civil servants and students seeking admission into tertiary institutions.
In line with the policy, the drug tests were part of the NNPP’s vetting process before submitting its candidate list to the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC, for the October 26, local government election.
Announcing the outcome of the drug tests, the NDLEA Commander in Kano, Abubakar Ahmad, said all of the aspirants from the NNPP – the ruling party in the state – tested positive for narcotics including opioids (codeine), THC (the active ingredient in cannabis), benzodiazepines, and nicotine.
“So far, 20 aspirants presented to us by the ruling party (NNPP) in the state have tested positive for multiple drugs, and the exercise is ongoing,” Ahmad revealed.
However, reacting to the development in a chat with NewsNGR, Kano State NNPP chairman, Dungurawa, said the test results are doubtful.
According to him, the Kwankwasiyya Movement, led by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, which formed the core of the NNPP in Kano, forbids consumption of illicit drugs.
He also stressed that the NNPP government in Kano State led by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had been waging a ‘serious’ campaign against drug use and trafficking.
He insisted that it is impossible for the Kano State NNPP to produce a drug addict as a candidate for an election.
Dungurawa said, “Everybody knows our movement – that is the Kwankwasiyya Movement – we are fighting crime, we are fighting drug abuse, we are fighting thuggery, we are fighting corruption and we are fighting illiteracy.
“That is our main focus and that is why we are on seat at this time around because the people of Kano are tired of the promotion of thuggery during the previous government under the watch of Abdullahi Ganduje. He was promoting thuggery and criminal activities in the state.
“When we were campaigning during the 2023 general elections we told the people of Kano State that our number one priority is going to be education, the second one is going to be education and the third one is going to be education.
“So I doubt if a movement of this type will produce drug addicts to serve as its candidates.”
Dungurawa suggested that the positive drug tests could be a result of ‘technical issues’ with the machines used to run the tests.
He also suggested a second test, which he said would reveal the ‘truth’.
“I am sure these tests were carried out by machines and these machines have technical issues – they are bound to make mistakes and mis-conceive information and when they transmit it is what they are going to read.
“I am sure that it is difficult to see a Kwankwasiyya member engaging in such a bad attitude. We are trying our best to stop our people from engaging in unwholesome acts such as not going to school and taking harmful hard drugs that will not allow them to be normal people.
“We are fighting drug abuse seriously. Our governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is going round twenty four hours to make sure that drug dealers do not settle in Kano.
“He is fighting them seriously and we have burnt a lot of hard drugs in Kano State. No month will pass without our governor confiscating a large quantity of drugs worth millions and we are burning them. So we are doing our best.
“So if something like this appears in any NDLEA report, as a layman I cannot say that is not correct but as someone that knows what he is doing, and we know the type of people we are dealing with, I can say that we are in doubt.
“Maybe they can go for a second test. Maybe the truth will come out,” the Kano NNPP chairman added.