The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has pushed back against assertions by its former presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, that his exit from the party was caused by external forces.
Kwankwaso had earlier suggested that legal pressures influenced from outside the party made his continued stay difficult, drawing parallels with the ongoing crisis in the African Democratic Congress.
“We left the NNPP due to externally influenced legal problems that made our stay perilous. The ADC has now also been forced into this difficulty,” Kwankwaso had said.
However, reacting on Sunday, the NNPP founder, Boniface Aniebonam, rejected the claim, insisting that the former Kano governor’s own actions triggered the crisis.
“The exit of Kwankwaso, Elder Buba Galadima, Dr Ahmed Ajuji and others from the NNPP was not influenced externally but by Kwankwaso’s intense fight to take over the NNPP, a party he did not register,” he said.
Aniebonam argued that Kwankwaso had a pattern of attributing his political challenges to outside forces, rather than taking responsibility for internal disputes.
“It was the same attitude that led to the defection of Gov. Abba Yusuf of Kano State to the All Progressives Congress.
“Kwankwaso and Galadima’s expulsion from the NNPP was ratified by the courts. A man who, without second thoughts, betrayed the trust of his good friend who gave him a free platform to run for the presidential election in 2023. To turn around to make insinuations of external influence is ungodly.
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“We warned the ADC. Kwankwaso may still do same in any party he finds himself. He should move on and stop insinuations against his perceived enemies.
“We still wonder if it was external influence that advised Kwankwaso to attempt to hijack the NNPP.
“We are fully convinced that the attempt by Kwankwaso and Galadima to hijack the NNPP and convert it to their personal belongings triggered escalating legal battles.
“Therefore, it is inappropriate for him to claim existence of external influence over the escalated legal battles,” he added.
The NNPP founder further recalled that the party had entered into an agreement with the Kwankwasiyya Movement ahead of the 2023 general elections, which allowed Kwankwaso to run for president on its platform without financial obligations.
“The contract of agreement was for the purposes of the 2023 general elections, which enabled Kwankwaso to contest the presidential election and other elective positions among its members at no cost.
“Kwankwaso came a very distant fourth after President Tinubu, Abubakar Atiku and Peter Obi. However, his members under the Kwankwasiyya Movement as members of NNPP won the governorship and other elective positions in Kano State.
“Unfortunately, Kwankwaso could not manage the success in Kano, leading to mass defection of NNPP members to the APC.
“The worst of his misconduct against the NNPP was the illegal conversion of the original logo and colour symbol of the party, including mutilation of our constitution without the consent of its founding fathers. Was this also externally influenced?” Aniebonam queried.