The crisis in the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has escalated with some aggrieved state party chairmen accusing the party’s presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, of using the party for political trading.
They accused the former Defence Minister of using the National Working Committee, NWC, to victimise people that were against his style of leadership even as they passed a vote of no confidence in him.
They rejected their suspension by the NWC and advised Kwankwaso to stop parading himself as the national Leader of the NNPP as they will no longer recognise him.
The crisis in the party began following opposition by some state chairmen to Kwankwaso’s political romance with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
They had warned that the manifestos of both the APC and NNPP were different and that the initial agreement to go to court against the declared winner of the 2023 presidential election, Bola Tinubu, failed because of Kwankwaso’s antics and ulterior motive of extracting personal benefits to the detriment of the party and the collective will of members.
Recall Kwankwaso who came a distant fourth in the February 25 presidential election quickly established political relationship with Tinubu, whom he visited at the presidential villa and led his loyalists to France when Tinubu, then president-elect was in France.
It was reported that Kwankwaso’s role in the election was to weaken opposition parties, a development he did not deny.
His association with Tinubu equally caused ripples in the Kano State chapter of the APC and almost ruined the relationship between Tinubu and one of his closest political allies, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the immediate Governor of Kano State.
Ganduje warned Tinubu that Kwankwaso could not be trusted as it appeared the former governor and minister was aiming to be appointed as a minister in the current government.
The state chairmen whose opposition to Kwankwaso has led to their suspension are accusing Kwankwaso of not having the interest of the party at heart even as they are contesting the legality of their suspension.
A statement issued by the affected Chairmen from Ogun, Niger, Rivers, Katsina, Zamfara, Lagos, Oyo, Kaduna, Sokoto and Ekiti States said their suspension which was announced by the National Publicity Secretary, Major Agbo, was null and void as it flouted the clear provisions of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
They argued that the real anti-party activity is being perpetrated by Kwankwaso who is usually “seen fraternising with candidates of other political parties in his desperate attempt to buy undue favour”.
They reckoned that, “the illegal NWC is now being used to witch hunt loyal party members who have no established record of anti-party activities
“We wonder why a disciplinary committee would sit without showing those alleged anti-party activities a copy of the petition written against them. How can the committee conclude without revealing the petitioners and their status in the party?
“Again, Article 39 Subsection 6 of the NNPP constitution states; Where it is proposed to expel a member of the Executive Committee from membership of the Party, such a proposal shall be submitted to the National Executive Committee…
“Where then did NWC derive its power to unilaterally expel the Chairman of Ogun State, Comrade Oginni Olaposi Sunday? Isn’t this a gross violation of Article 39(6) of the NNPP Constitution? Any act that violates the Constitution is to the extent of its inconsistency null and void.
“Slandering the hard-earned image of everyone who for many years have sacrificed their resources, time, and properties in building the party for the very offence the former presidential candidate openly committed is an indication that the illegally constituted NWC is being used to achieve a sinister motive of hijacking the party in continuance of political trading which characterised Kwankwaso’s participation in the 2023 Presidential election.”