The Founder of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Mr Boniface Aniebonam, says members of the party are not part of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s planned defection to the African Democratic Congress.
Aniebonam made this known in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Kwankwaso, in a statement on Sunday, formally announced his resignation from the NNPP with immediate effect.
He said, “I seize this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the honour and privilege of serving as the NNPP 2023 presidential candidate.
“As a committed and bona fide member of the party, this was not an easy decision to make.”
According to Kwankwaso, considering the current trajectory of the nation’s political landscape, which calls for strategic realignment, he found it necessary to identify with another political platform that offers the best opportunity to effectively change the nation.
Kwankwaso will be officially joining the ADC on Monday, March 30.
In a memo on Saturday, a former NNPP National Chairman and member of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Ahmed Ajuji, urged NNPP National Working Committee members, state chairmen, as well as all office holders of the party from national to ward levels, to remain in their respective positions and continue their work within the party.
Ajuji had said that, except for those who wished to resign and pursue other political careers, others should remain in the NNPP, as there are moves to unify the party and withdraw all litigations.
Aniebonam said that despite wishing Kwankwaso good luck in his endeavours, the NNPP would not be his fallback party if he failed in the ADC.
He said, “We are not joining ADC; most of our members in Kano State went to the APC. Only members of the Kwankwasiyya movement left may join their leader in the ADC.
“Ajuji and members of the Kwankwasiyya movement, including Kwankwaso and Elder Buba Galadima, have long been expelled from the NNPP. We won our cases in court against them. Ajuji, therefore, cannot tell us what to do.
“Most of our members, including our sole governor, Yusuf Ahmed of Kano State, left for the APC because of our escalating court cases.
“It is, therefore, funny to see Ajuji signing such a memo when we all know he belongs to the Kwankwasiyya movement and is a recognised member of the Agbo Major-led NWC of the NNPP.
“The NNPP will not accept Kwankwaso back into its fold nor allow him to ever fly our flag again for whatever position.”
Aniebonam noted that, from the body language, it was obvious that the few people left in the Kwankwasiyya movement did not believe in the ADC or Kwankwaso’s ability to succeed there.
He said the NNPP had already begun consultations with aspirants for the 2027 presidential election, adding that all aspirants would have to undergo the party’s primaries, unlike in 2023 when the ticket was handed to Kwankwaso.
“We will not make the same mistakes again. The NNPP is willing to accept members who defected to other parties back into its fold, but never those expelled for anti-party activities.
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“We are actually relieved to see Kwankwaso join a new party, as that will usher in the peace that had long eluded members since he began moves to hijack the NNPP.
“We are also not averse to collaborations with parties of similar ideologies, but it will be decided by members in the build-up to the 2027 general elections,” Aniebonam added. (NAN)
