The submission of the apparatus of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP by its original founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam to Rabiu Kwankwaso who is the presidential candidate of the party in the February 25 presidential election puts a question mark on the political sapience of the former as the party has been taken over by the latter’s foot soldiers
By Miracle Egbo
In August 19, 2022 a hall in Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja Lagos crawled with people and members of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP and the Presidential candidate of the party in the February 25, presidential election, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. Kwankwaso was visibly not happy in the hall. Reason, those empowered to organize the event fell short of expectation because the presidential candidate of the party had wanted to turn the event into a campaign rally but was cocooned in hall thereby restricting the movement of large members of the party from the South West in the critical moment of campaign.
The infractions by Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam and those he contracted to organize the event was said to have got the goat of Kwankwaso. The visible anger of Kwankwaso found expression in his deliberate attempt to ignore Aniebonam in his speech at the event. He ended his speech at the event without mentioning the name of the man who organized the event. An insider in the camp of Kwankwaso told this medium that their boss was not happy that huge amount of money voted to organize the event was not commiserate with the provision made at the event and the impact the event had on the electorate. It was gathered that Kwankwaso complained bitterly to his political associates that the Lagos event was a total flop because of the way it was handled by the organizers of the event, adding that the idea was to stage a big rally to herald the entry of the party into Lagos to arouse his kwankwasiyya members that were scattered all over the nation.
Information has it that the alleged expelled Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, Aniebonam further exposed lack of his political sapience during the presidential election. Informed source revealed that despite the alleged huge amount of money collected by the embattled BOT Chairman of party, he could not allegedly though, reach out to his constituency in the course of the campaign which led to the colossal loss of the party even his ward in Anambra State. Inside source revealed that Kwankwaso was miffed that despite the alleged humongous amount of money provided for the purpose of wooing voters in Anambra State, the party performed dismal at the end of the day. Worse still, the embattled BOT chairman lost his ward to not too loud political party, Young Peoples’ Party, YPP, a situation that was said to have infuriated Kwankwaso and his supporters in the party.
It was gathered that the brewing conundrum got to head when the BOT Chairman was fingered as the cause of the uproar in the party that the candidate of the party in the 2023 presidential election was involved in anti-party activities by his visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allegedly negotiate for a ministerial slot without carrying members of the BOT along. The spat between Aniebonam faction of the party and Kwankwaso faction got to a melting point when the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party allegedly controlled by the presidential candidate of the party in 2023 rose from its meeting with the suspension of the BOT Chairman on the ground that he is not capable of handling the post.
Sources revealed that as at the time of the suspension of the BOT Chairman, the NEC of the party was already polarized, one faction rooting for the presidential candidate while the other is for the BOT Chairman. In swift reaction to his suspension, the BOT Chairman had already concluded with his faction to expel Kwankwaso but he would resign as the Chairman of the BOT, a move most political pundits saw as a naïve approach to avert the political tsunami that would herald his oust from the party he claimed to have founded many years before now.
In Lagos, the then embattled BOT Chairman, Aniebonam in very elaborate efforts to reclaim the party he willingly handed over to Kwankwaso and his political associates on platter of gold had a NEC meeting that political observers opined ran foul of the constitution establishing the party. The faction of the embattled BOT Chairman who dominated the NEC at the wake of its meeting expelled the presidential candidate of the party. The reason for his expulsion was hinged on the fact that he refused to appear before the NEC to defend the allegation that he was engaged in anti-party activities and other sundry offences reeled out at the Rock View Hotels, Apapa, Lagos, venue of the NEC meeting.
The factional NEC members loyal to Aniebonam at the wake of its meeting elected Dr. Agbo Major who was the former National Publicity Secretary of the party as the factional National Chairman of the party. It was gathered that the National Working Committee, NWC of the party in Abuja nearly ran amok over the decision of selected party members to sit in Lagos and take decision meant to destroy the party. The National Working Committee of the party in Abuja said that the decision taken in Lagos was null and void, dismissing the reports that the party is factionalise saying that those already suspended by the party do not have any legal right to expel Kwankwaso.
The Acting National Chairman of the party, Mallam Abba Kawu Ali described those who claimed to have suspended Kwankwanso as empty barrels, adding that the story was unfortunate and rubbish. The Kwankwaso faction NEC members reiterated the fact that there is no crack in the party as being peddled by those who they described as suspended members of the party who failed to follow legal means to quash their suspension from the party.
“We wish to reiterate that our NWC is intact except the former National Publicity Secretary and his cohorts who have been expelled by the properly constituted National Executive Committee, NEC. All our states chairmen (37) and other members of the NEC are intact.
“The NNPP since the dissolution of the Board of Trustees, BOT in 2022 publicly in the presence of INEC and the media, has not constituted a new Board. The BOT is not what one person can sit in one corner to constitute.
“As you are aware , some members of NNPP based on allegation of anti-party activities during the 2023 general elections were properly investigated and sanctions applied in line with the letters of the our constitution. About 10 of them along with Dr. Boniface Aniebonam and our former National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Gilbert Major Agbo gathered in Apapa, Lagos and claimed to have dissolved the properly constituted National Working Committee, NWC of the party.
“For the records this present NWC was constituted and inaugurated in April 2022 for a period of four years at a ceremony witnessed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The process of removing member(s) of the NWC is very clear in our constitution and no organ of the party has the power to dissolve the NWC not even the Board of Trustees which is yet to be formerly constituted.
“The result of our investigation has made it very clear that some external forces scared of the 2027 elections are behind these recalcitrant persons and their shenanigans and their main target, no doubt is Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
“We as a party are aware of their engagements and their plans. We know their limitations according to the statues of NNPP Constitution, Electoral Act, INEC Guidelines and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as Amended, but since their mission in collaboration with our detractors from outside the party is to create confusion and distractions, the party as a law abiding organization that believes in the rule of law, decided to approach the courts to put a stop to their evil machinations of disrupting our well laid down programmes for subsequent elections.
“To this end, the NNPP as a party approached the court to help restore sanity in the polity. It is an open secret that these former members are not backed by the law in all they are doing. The arrow heads of this onslaught have ceased to be members of the party by virtue of their suspension and expulsion”.
In a Suit No K/M1157/2023 of September 4, 2023, the party got an interim injunction to stop the faction of the party that is loyal to the embattled former BOT Chairman from parading themselves as officers of the party till the determination of the case.
It was gathered that the faction controlled by Aniebonam is yet to vacate the order therefore is seen illegal occupants of the offices they claim to occupy pending the determination of the case.
