As Kwankwaso, founder fight dirty, will NNPP weather the storm?

In the run up to the 2023 general elections, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) was touted as the third force—a concept which has gained traction in the Nigerian political lexicon recently, but in reality, has failed to create the expected impact—by giving the two main political parties a run for their money. The NNPP, […]

In the run up to the 2023 general elections, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) was touted as the third force—a concept which has gained traction in the Nigerian political lexicon recently, but in reality, has failed to create the expected impact—by giving the two main political parties a run for their money.

The NNPP, also regarded by many as the beautiful bride, announced its presence on the political arena with a big bang, having Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former two-term governor of Kano State and a former defence minister, fly its presidential ticket.

With Kwankwaso’s cult-like followership in the populous and politically energetic Kano State, the party looked set to challenge Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC), a former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a former governor, Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

The party’s outing in the election was impressive on the one hand because it wrestled power from the ruling APC in Kano, but dismal on the other, for failing to win in other states and regions, which effectively consigned it to a regional party, incapable of winning a national election.

Daily Trust learnt that the party went into the 2023 elections with internal squabbles that were carefully managed but began to manifest soon after the election, with the former national chairman, Prof. Rufai Alkali, resigning under very curious circumstances.

However, the NNPP which had been in existence since 2002 was not known until Kwankwaso came on board with his The National Movement (TNM) group. The founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, was Lagos-based and more of a businessman than a politician. So, when Kwankwaso joined the party, it was obvious that it was just a matter of time before he would take full control of its structures.

In the past one month, a whirlwind of crisis has hit the party, culminating in the splitting of the party into two factions, and the erstwhile chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Dr Aniebonam, resigning his chairmanship but installing his own factional leadership in Lagos while the national leader’s group holding forte in Abuja.

But the Kwankwaso group, led by the Malam Kawu Ali National Working Committee (NWC), has insisted that there was no faction in the party.

On August 29, the crisis was, however, climaxed when both factions held National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings concurrently in Abuja and Lagos. While the Abuja faction slammed expulsion on Aniebonam, the national publicity secretary, Agbo Major, and fourteen other officials for anti-party activities,  the Lagos group suspended the national leader, Kwankwaso, over the same reason.

Kwankwaso has met President Bola Tinubu on a few occasions in recent times, the reason the Lagos faction gave for his purported suspension.

Major, erstwhile national publicity secretary of the party, was then appointed acting chairman by the Lagos faction.

“At the National Executive Committee meeting of the NNPP held in Abuja today; August 29th, 2023, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Agbo Major and several others were expelled from the party,” Ladipo Johnson, a chieftain of the party, said while reacting to the suspension of his principal, Kwankwaso.

“The NEC also moved several other motions relating to the logo of the party, the amendment of the constitution, ratification of the state caretaker committees, and the suspension of two articles in the constitution of the NNPP 2022.

“At the meeting were the executive governor of Kano State, the national chairman, Distinguished Senator Kawu Ismaila, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Engr Buba Galadima, and many others.

“NEC noted that they were suspended (now expelled) persons who purportedly held a Board of Trustees meeting in Apapa, Lagos, this morning.

“Naturally, their meeting was null and void and to no effect,” he added.

Political sources who prefer to remain anonymous have said the strong-willed national leader of the party, Kwankwaso, was determined to snatch the party from the original owners. They said no one would stop him from doing so as he already has a governor and at least 18 legislators who won elections on the platform of the party behind him.

“Though the Aniebonam group which entrusted their faction into Major’s hands are fighting back, they are not a match to Kwankwaso.  Barring any judicial pronouncement that would favour them, they cannot stop the Kano politician. Now, they are throwing all their arsenals at him but that can only win them public sympathy because they form the core of the party; they were the foundation, but they cannot defeat Kwankwaso politically,” one of the sources said.

But the Major-led splitter has insisted they have control of the party and they have stopped the Kwankwaso group from snatching it away from them.

In a telephone interview, the acting national chairman, Major, said Kwankwaso prosecuted the election the way he wanted without taking the party along and when Aniebonam asked questions, the problem started.

He said the Kwankwaso group were wrong in suspending Aniebonam as the BoT chairman cannot be suspended because the constitution of the party confers on him permanent membership of the board and party.

When asked if his faction has the strength to resist Kwankwaso, he said, “We have already stopped him. The owners of the party have taken it, that is the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF). Kwankwaso is not a match for them. NAGAFF, the mother of the party, has taken it, so we are not talking of strength or anything here. He can go somewhere else or he has his Kwankwassiyya group and he can consolidate it into a political party. We will not allow him to cause further confusion in our party. That is why the BoT in their wisdom suspended him for six months and they have also set up a committee to invite him for questioning and if he doesn’t come, we will expel him.”

On Sunday; September 3, there was another twist to the winding tale of the NNPP crisis as the Lagos faction released a statement in Abuja indicating their intention to probe Kwankwaso over N1bn nomination fee.

The acting national publicity secretary of the Major’s faction, Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq, in the statement demanded the account of over N1 billion raised from the sale of forms for the presidential, governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and houses of assembly.

Major in the phone interview confirmed that relevant security agencies would be invited to properly examine the accounts of the party, explaining that it was not targeted at anybody.

“We are not targeting anybody per say but we are only asking for a proper audit on behalf of Nigerians whose people spent money to buy forms with the NNPP,” he said.

Reacting, Ladipo Johnson, who speaks for the Kwankwaso faction, said his principal did not do anything wrong, describing all the allegations levelled against him (Kwankwaso) as frivolous.

Johnson queried the timing of the allegations, wondering why the allegations were not raised until the factional leaders were expelled from the party.

“Does Kwankwaso sell forms? He is neither an official of the party nor an accounting officer. Why are you taking them seriously? It should be obvious to the whole world what these people are trying to do. They have been expelled.

“These are ex-members and renegades who are no longer in the party. I think the sooner Nigerians move to more serious issues relating to the economy and to the Niger crisis, the best for us. Since people like Agbo have formed their own NWC, they should sell nomination forms and teach the world how to manage N1b. I wonder how many candidates the NNPP has with which we sold N1b worth of forms.

“Why have they not raised this allegation before, during, and immediately after the election? Why are they just saying these things after their expulsion from the party?” Johnson asked.

He maintained that there is no faction in the party, that it is the media that have recognised the expelled members as a faction.

He also said it was not right for one man to claim ownership of a political party as it is usually registered as a trustee.

It remains to be seen which bloc has the last laugh as events continue to unravel at breakneck speed.