NNPP to Kwankwaso: Stop using party’s name to attack presidency

The National Leadership of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has issued a stern warning to Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, urging him to desist from using the party’s name in making unprovoked attacks on the Presidency.

In a statement released on Sunday, May 18, in Lagos, the NNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Oginni Olaposi, emphasized that Kwankwaso’s affiliation with the party ended after the 2023 general election, in which he served as its presidential candidate.

Dr. Olaposi stated that the Memorandum of Understanding between the NNPP and the Kwankwasiya movement, led by Kwankwaso, had long been terminated.

He added that Kwankwaso had been formally expelled from the party and therefore has no authority to speak on behalf of the NNPP.

“Kwankwaso should stop parading himself as a member of our party to launch attacks against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency,” Olaposi said.

“He has no official position in the NNPP beyond his former role as our presidential candidate in 2023.”

Reaffirming the party’s leadership, Olaposi stated that Dr. Boniface Aniebonam remains the NNPP’s founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

He described Aniebonam as a principled leader who refrains from making reckless statements against constituted authorities.

The statement stressed that any remarks made by Kwankwaso or his associates do not represent the NNPP’s official position.

“We distance ourselves from the recent comments by Kwankwaso criticizing President Bola Tinubu.

“These are his personal views and those of his expelled associates, not the NNPP,” Olaposi noted.

He recalled that Kwankwaso recently lost a legal battle against the Aniebonam-led leadership of the NNPP at the High Court in Abuja on April 3.

The party also tendered an apology to President Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, over what it called Kwankwaso’s inappropriate utterances.

“As a responsible political party, we believe in contributing to national development through constructive engagement with government policies, not through insults or mudslinging,” Olaposi said.

He further stated that individuals such as Kwankwaso, Elder Buba Galadima, and former National Working Committee members led by Dr. Ahmed Ajuji have been legally expelled from the party.

Their expulsions, he said, have been upheld by court judgements in Abia State and the Federal Capital Territory.

The NNPP called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to update its records to reflect these legal decisions and urged the public and media to refrain from identifying Kwankwaso as a leader of the NNPP.

“At best, he may be described as the leader of the Kwankwasiya group,” Olaposi concluded, emphasizing that the NNPP remains a registered political party and not a private organization.

The Star