A former member of the House of Representatives,Farouk Lawan, who was among those who was pardoned by President Bola Tinubu, said he dumped the Kwankwasiya Movement because he was abandoned by the group during his trying moments.
He said with the pardon, he has started a new phase in politics.
Lawan, who represented Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano State, was among the 175 persons granted presidential pardon by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 9.
He was jailed in 2021 for collecting a bribe in 2012 to delete a company’s name from the list of firms accused of fraud in the fuel subsidy scandal.
Lawan said the experience changed his perspective on politics and loyalty.
He served his jailed and was let go off the hook in October 2024,
Lawan told the BBC that the Kwankwasiyya movement abandoned him, despite his long-standing association with it.
“Whenever God puts you through a trial, He also opens your eyes to see who your true companions are,” he said, lamenting that a key figure in the movement never called to sympathise with him during or after his imprisonment.
“It’s been a year now. He never called to wish me well or say, ‘May Allah bless you for regaining your freedom,’” he said.
Lawan said while serving his jail term, he was still in the PDP, but instructed his supporters to join the NNPP during the 2023 elections.
He said the NNPP is now too narrow for his political aspirations.
“Politics should be expansive. The NNPP, as it is now, feels too narrow for me,” he said, adding that he prefers to focus on “mainstream national politics.”
