The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has accused its 2023 presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, of engaging in anti-party activities and betraying the trust of the party’s founding members.
According to the party, the former Kano governor’s actions have led to massive defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party made the claim following the recent exit of two prominent figures: Rep. Abdulmuni Jibrin, who rejoined the APC, and Ambassador Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, who moved to the PDP.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NNPP National Secretary, Dr. Ogini Olaposi, said the series of defections were the result of the leadership crisis allegedly created by Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya Movement.
“The NNPP faced a series of litigations and still faces a leadership crisis when Kwankwaso and his movement tried to hijack the party’s leadership and structures,” he said.
Olaposi lamented that several strategic members in Kano had already decamped to the ruling APC due to the situation.
He also accused Kwankwaso and his followers of betraying Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the party’s founder and Chairman of its Board of Trustees.
“The unfortunate thing is that Kwankwaso and his followers betrayed the trust reposed in them by Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NNPP,” Olaposi added.
According to him, the internal rift has discouraged loyal members and pushed others to seek relevance elsewhere ahead of the 2027 elections.
“With INEC yet to resolve the NNPP leadership crisis despite the landmark judgments affirming the Dr Agbo Major-led National Working Committee, there is a tendency that many more members, who are not sure of their fate, will leave,” he said.
The party, however, noted that it bears no grudge against those leaving, stressing that membership in any political party remains a personal choice.
“It’s the right of every Nigerian to choose the party they wish to belong to. The defectors did not join another party under duress but out of their free will because of our internal leadership crisis,” the statement read.
Dr. Olaposi maintained that the NNPP stands for honesty, integrity, and ideological loyalty, and urged members to remain calm as efforts continue to restore unity in the party.
“It’s our hope that INEC should not wait for a compelling order of the court to obey valid court judgements,” he added.
