Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Magaji Mato, has dismissed claims of factionalisation within the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), saying the party remains united both in fact and in law. He made the clarification on Wednesday while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, stressing that reports of internal division are not backed by any legal or official record.

Mato’s comments come shortly after Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after resigning from the NNPP. According to the legal expert, political defections should not be confused with the existence of factions, as party structure and leadership are defined by law and recognised institutions, not personal claims.

Explaining further, Mato said factionalisation cannot be established by mere statements or propaganda. He noted that records at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) clearly show that NNPP has a single leadership. He added that no court in Nigeria has declared the existence of two or more factions within the party.

He concluded that what is being presented as a crisis within the NNPP is largely political propaganda. According to him, individuals laying claim to leadership positions without legal backing do not amount to factionalisation. Mato maintained that, as far as official records and the law are concerned, NNPP remains one united political party.