The NNPP, or New Nigerian Peoples Party, has claimed that the APC and Tinubu’s government are trying to undermine them by whatever means necessary.
Dr. Boniface Aniebonam and Dr. Agbo Gilbert Major are spearheading one camp within the NNPP, while Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiya Movement are loyal to the other.
Major and Aniebonam were kicked out of the party after the 2023 elections on charges of being anti-party, but they still haven’t given in.
In a recent development, the FCT High Court in Maitama issued a directive instructing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize the National Working Committee, NWC, led by Major.
This comes after the two individuals had previously sought legal recourse in various courts across the country without success,
This group has access to INEC’s platform to submit candidate names for the 2027 general election, even though they haven’t held primary elections and aren’t on the NWC’s membership roster that Bala Yunusa Muhammed presented to the commission.
At a news conference held at the party’s Abuja headquarters on Wednesday, Mohammed—the National Chairman of the NNPP affiliated with Kwankwaso—expressed his surprise at INEC’s quick recognition of the Major-led group, given that his faction had earlier promised to work with INEC.
“The ruling party or the current government is likely responsible. We have consistently received favorable judgments until suddenly they approached a lower court in Abuja and Abia State, obtaining a default judgment,” the party chair said when asked where the NNPP crisis originated. Everyone knows that a fair hearing is necessary before a verdict can be made.
Something is clearly wrong if such a verdict has been handed out. Some powers are behind these acts, and they are not visible to the naked eye.
He made the following statement when asked about the motivations of the APC and the present administration in their attempt to undermine the NNPP: “Following the 2023 general election, we emerged as the third most popular political party in Nigeria…
They see us as an enemy and are trying to sow discord within our party as a result. Some of our expelled party members have started using the money they received from us to sow discord among us.
It was too soon for INEC to act. They were supposed to keep things as they were when we met with them in their office. We don’t know why they changed their stance.
We are entitled to appeal any ruling that we find unsatisfactory. They must refrain from taking any action until the appeal is finalized. Nonetheless, they skipped the waiting game and appointed people who aren’t even officially part of the NNPP.
“These individuals have been kicked out of the party and removed from the membership roster. We have followed INEC’s order and registered all party members electronically by May 10th. As a result, choosing a leader who isn’t a party member is completely unacceptable.