By: Praise Chinecherem
The leadership crisis in the New Nigerian People’s Party NNPP has deepened, following the stand of the Southeast stakeholders that their presidential candidate during the February 25 election, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso is no longer a member of the party.
The stakeholders from Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Imo and Ebonyi States, met yesterday in Awka, Anambra state, where the decision was taken.
They also reaffirmed the dissolution of Kawu Ali’s led-National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
They alleged that Kwankwaso and some of his Kwankwasiya movement expired immediately after the conclusion of the February 25th, 2023 Presidential election.
The Southeast leaders therefore, called on the public not to have any political dealings with Kwankwaso and his group under the platform of NNPP again.
The Southeast leaders announced that the founder of the party 21 years ago, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, remained the National leader of the party under the Chairmanship of Dr. Agbo Major.
The resolution was moved by Hon Chief Ozeogu Stephen, acting Ebonyi state chairman of NNPP which was seconded by Hon Nnani Emmanuel, acting state publicity secretary imo state respectively.
They leaders, furtherbaccused the current NWC and Kwankwaso of hijacking the party structure from the original owners and for not involving the founder, Aniebonam in the party’s scheme of things.
Deputy National Chairman of the Party, Chief Felix Chukwurah, said, ” We are all aware that NNPP as the number four out of 18 parties after the last general elections have encountered encumbrances capable of destabilizing her pursuits in many fronts towards claiming God’s mandate of producing number one citizen (the president) in Nigeria and other political offices in the three arms of government in the next political dispensation come 2027.
“APC, PDP, LP and the rest of the political parties in Nigeria including ours are burdened with colours of quagmire internally and externally to the extent that some candidates who came out victorious in the last elections are already defecting to other parties for one reason or the other.
“Our party NNPP is not imuned to party quagmires, but the peculiarities in our circumstances is worth dealing with decisively to resist the obvious.
“We have a situation where the party constitution was grossly violated and abandoned for a new fresh one under the guise of amendment by some recent entrants in the party to enable them perfect a hijack of the party, founded and nurtured for twenty two years by Dr. Boniface Aniebonam supported by some other pioneer members.
“We have a situation where the NWC was swallowed and manipulated by few new entrants, they marshaled the NWC members to meetings in their private houses for easy access and control for selfish and unpopular decisions.
“They frame anybody they set their eyes on especially some state chairmen who are not likely to support their hijack agenda and suspend or expel them all together.
“They conspired and replaced their imaginary enemies in many states with some Kwankwasiya members as the caretaker chairmen” he said
Chukwurah, however, assured that NNPP was fully prepared and ready to take over Imo State Government House in the forthcoming November 11th, 2023 Governorship election in the state.
