The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) state chairmen, who are outraged, have denounced the purported covert actions taken by Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, the party’s former presidential candidate, to seize control of the party’s machinery from Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the party founder.
Comrade Olayinka Dada, the party’s Ekiti State Chairman, briefed reporters in Ado-Ekiti and accused the NWC members of using themselves as free tools in Kwakwanso’s hands to harm the party’s overall interests.
He made a suggestion that the NNPP leaders from 10 States had voted against the members of the Abba Kawu-led National Working Committee (NWC) because they were reportedly conspiring with Kwankwaso to carry out their evil scheme.
He declared that they had rejected the NWC leadership because they had failed to run the party’s affairs effectively, and he voiced shock over what he called Kwankwaso’s desperation in dismantling the political party that had once provided him and his foot soldiers with a fortress in the most recent election.
Dada, who also serves as the spokesperson for the Forum of NNDP State Chairmen, claimed that the party started to have doubts when Kwankwaso hurriedly met in secret with the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate and election winner Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in France days after the vote, even as other serious political parties were gathering evidence of electoral fraud to contest the results as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He claimed that Kwankwaso’s one action, along with other injustices noted before to, during, and following the Presidential election, proved that he had sold out.
In addition to others, the state chairmen include those of Ekiti, Enugu, Rivers, Zamfara, Kastina, Kaduna, and Niger.
Dada pointed out that Kwankwaso’s internal sabotage, selfishness, greed, and insincerity, as well as some undemocratic forces inside the party, were to blame for the party’s poor result during the general election.
He also disregarded the NWC’s decision to suspend the seven state chairmen and dissolve the party’s entire leadership, from the ward to the state levels, calling it an egregious illegality that couldn’t stand.
“The NNPP has been enmeshed in intra-party crisis due to the sheer illegality and unconstitutional decisions taken by the NWC of our party.
“I would like to inform the world that this crisis was orchestrated by Kwankwaso to hijack structures of the party after he was challenged about his anti-party activities.
“These anti-party activities stemmed from the unholy romance with Tinubu. This romance largely affected the performance of the party during the general election.
“Today, it is obvious that the tenant has now turned out to chase the landlord but the state chairmen have resolved never to allow the tenant to occupy our own house. We are not unaware of the plot to impose an illegal caretaker panel across the 10 States.
“We will not allow anybody to trade with the collective sweat of the members of the party for selfish interest. We promise to defend the integrity of the party with every legitimate means,” he said.
Dada insisted that the executives in the seven states still constitutionally stand and would continue to carry out their legal duties in line with the operational party’s legal framework.
He argued that the purported dissolution was brazen disregard for the constitution of the party, adding that the NWC does not have the power to dissolve executives because it (NWC) was a product of illegality.
He called on party supporters to remain committed and not be deterred by ‘devious antics’ of some alleged undemocratic elements to cause chaos and consequently seize control of the party.