A faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) says it would be delighted if Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, defects to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing him as a “political burden.”
In a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos, Oginni Olaposi, national secretary of the faction, said the party has nothing to lose if Kwankwaso joins the ruling party amid ongoing speculation about his alleged deal with the APC following Abdullahi Ganduje’s resignation as chairman.
Ganduje stepped down from his position on Friday, citing health reasons, but some reports claim his resignation is linked to negotiations aimed at welcoming Kwankwaso into the APC.
Olaposi said the NNPP decided to comment because of its unresolved issues with Kwankwaso, who was expelled from the party for alleged anti-party activities.
His words: “Kwankwaso still insists he is a member of our party even after his expulsion.
“Kwankwaso tried to hijack the NNPP and caused the party to go through avoidable litigation.”
He recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently restored the party’s original logo after a legal battle sparked by Kwankwaso’s attempt to replace it with the Kwankwasiyya Movement symbol.
Olaposi added: “We have reasons to doubt the ongoing propaganda that Ganduje left APC to enable an alleged negotiated arrangement with Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“It is on record that Ganduje once said that APC is always ready to pardon and accommodate defectors, even those who left its fold.”
He stated that the NNPP would be “greatly relieved” if the APC took over what he described as the burden of managing Kwankwaso’s political ambitions.
His words: “We find it difficult to believe that Kwankwaso, who is still struggling to hijack the NNPP, is also negotiating to join the ruling party.
“Kwankwaso betrayed our trust by trying to hijack the party from its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who facilitated his free ticket for the 2023 presidential election.”
Olaposi stressed that the NNPP was now focused on rebuilding its structures and reconnecting with its founding principles, free from what he called the “Kwankwaso distraction.”
