The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has attributed the defections of Rep. Abdulmuni Jibrin to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Amb. Oluremi Oguntoyinbo to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso’s anti-party activities and betrayal of trust.
The party described the recent wave of departures as the outcome of internal leadership crises.
Recall that Jibrin, a former Director General of Tinubu Support Groups, on Monday declared his return to the APC and pledged support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Similarly, Oguntoyinbo, a former NNPP gubernatorial candidate in Ogun State, officially resigned from the party on Monday and joined the PDP.
In a statement Tuesday, NNPP’s National Secretary, Dr Ogini Olaposi, said the defections were caused by “avoidable leadership crisis created by Kwankwaso, its 2023 presidential candidate, and his Kwankwasiya Movement.”
“The NNPP faced a series of litigations and still faces a leadership crisis when Kwankwaso and his movement tried to hijack the party’s leadership and structures,” Olaposi said.
“Many of our strategic members left our party in Kano to join the APC. There is no responsible politician who would want to be in a political party where an individual perceives himself as the beginning and end in decision-making, and yet, we claim to practice democracy.”
Olaposi further accused Kwankwaso and his followers of betraying the trust placed in them by Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NNPP.
“The avoidable betrayal of trust of our founder, who gave the presidential ticket of the party to Kwankwaso at no cost, has continued to trail our party,” he said.
He added: “In the build-up to the 2027 general elections, we are not surprised by the alignments as many members are moving to where they will be relevant and contest elections void of political-tradership and abuse of power. With INEC yet to resolve the NNPP leadership crisis, despite landmark judgments affirming the Dr Agbo Major-led National Working Committee, there is a tendency that many more members, who are not sure of their fate, will leave.”
Despite the defections, Olaposi said the NNPP had nothing against members leaving, just as it welcomed members of other parties joining its fold.
“It’s the right of every Nigerian to choose the party they wish to belong to. The defectors did not join another party under duress but out of their own free will, because of our internal leadership crisis,” he said.
He emphasised, “As a political party, we are not desperate. Politics is not a do-or-die affair, and we believe in honesty and integrity. Political parties in Nigeria have ideologies. Loyalty to an ideology matters a lot in an individual’s identity; therefore, any member of the NNPP who no longer aligns with its ideology is free to leave, and those who believe in it are free to remain or join.”
Olaposi concluded by expressing hope that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would swiftly resolve the NNPP leadership crisis to allow the party to actively participate in the 2027 elections and beyond.
“It is our hope that INEC should not wait for a compelling order of the court to obey valid court judgments. We urge all our members and intending members to remain calm and law-abiding. We will regain control of our party,” he said.
(NAN)