The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has dismissed claims by its 2023 presidential candidate, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, that his departure from the party was driven by external forces.
Kwankwaso had suggested that “externally influenced legal problems” forced him out of the NNPP, drawing parallels with the current crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
But in a swift rebuttal, NNPP founder Dr. Boniface Aniebonam insisted Kwankwaso’s exit was self-inflicted.
“Kwankwaso has always been his own problem. His attempt to hijack a party he did not register triggered the legal battles. To now claim external influence is ungodly and shameful,” Aniebonam said.
He accused Kwankwaso of trying to dominate NNPP structures and altering its logo and constitution without consent.
He was also accused of mismanaging the party’s success in Kano State, which led to mass defections to the APC, as well as betraying the trust of allies who gave him a platform to contest the 2023 presidential election.
Aniebonam stressed that Kwankwaso’s expulsion, alongside Elder Buba Galadima and others, was ratified by the courts. He reminded that the Memorandum of Association between NNPP and the Kwankwasiya Movement was meant only for the 2023 elections, after which Kwankwaso came fourth behind Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi.
“We warned the ADC. Kwankwaso may still do the same in any party he joins,” Aniebonam added.