- Kwankwaso added value to NNPP, we are grateful – Aniebonam
By Deborah James
Amid the ongoing leadership tussle at the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and lingering concerns that its 2023 Presidential Candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, plans to hijack the party, NNPP’s founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, has insisted that there is a way back for the expelled party leader.
Dr. Aniebonam, who was speaking during a press conference on Friday, stressed that the former Kano State Governor has added value to the political party and he is expected to engage the current Board of Trustees (BoT) to figure out conditions for his pardon.
Aniebonam, however, frowned at Kwankwaso’s subtle ways to hijack the party, stating that there were injunctions against the alleged illegal national convention planned by Senator Kwankwaso and his group on March 23rd and 26th, 2024.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja, has ruled that the NNPP case is an internal matter, and the party’s constitution will determine the judgement.
“The NNPP Board of Trustees would decide the case and Kwankwaso and others were not in the court which means they have lost the case,” NNPP Founder said.
Dr. Aniebonam recalled that Kwankwaso said he is not going to go on television to talk about the current issues. However, he maintained that the he personally expects Kwankwaso to tell the public what is wrong at the NNPP.
His words: “Kwankwaso is trying to hijack the party I founded and I don’t know what he really wants. The parent body of NNPP is National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF). I founded NAGAFF and served as the president in 1999. He is trying to transform NNPP to Kwankwaso movement.”
“Kwankwaso made a clear fact that if the party wants to consider a leader, it should be the governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, because he won the election under our platform.”
Nonetheless, Aniebonam admitted that Kwankwaso has added value to the NNPP and expressed gratitude for the immense value but stressed that Kwankwaso has been expelled.
“If he purges and reports himself to the board he can be pardoned,” the NNPP founder added.