By-Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. The crises rocking the New Nigeria People’s Party–NNPP seems to take another dimension with the defection of the Party’s former National Chairman Professor Ahmed Rufa’i Alkali and other bigwigs like the party’s Gubernatorial Candidates of Kaduna Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi and his counterpart of Benue State Ben Angwe.
The party was in to crises as the it is divided into two factions,one under the leadership of the Presidential Candidate of the party during the 25 February Presidential election Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the other faction is under the Party funder Boniface Aniebonam.
It could be recalled that there was a time that not long ago the Boniface Aniebonam’s faction suspended Senator Kwankwaso from the party over an allegation of anti-party activities
The group led by Aniebonam and Major suspended Kwankwaso at a special general assembly held at the Apapa. Rock View Hotels in Apapa area ,Lagos State.
The group said material evidence in public affirmed that Kwankwaso was involved in anti-Party activities at various times such as meeting and political discussions with President Bola Tinubu ,then candidate of of the All Progressives Congress (APC) his People’s Democratic Party counterpart,Atiku Abubakar ,and Labour Party’s Peter Obi
The group said Kwankwaso’s political hobnobbing earned him six months suspension pending the outcome of an investigation by a disciplinary committee.
Kwankwaso’s reaction to the suspension
In a swift reaction to the Boniface camp of suspending Senator Kwankwaso from the NNPP.The faction loyal to the Party’s Presidential Candidate in the last election Rabiu Kwankwaso held a parallel meeting of the National Executive Committee in Abuja to reverse the suspension.
The meeting which was attended by the Executive Governor of Kano State,National chairman of the party, Senator Kawu Sumaila and Engineer Buba Galadama noted that the persons purportedly held the Board of Trustees meeting in Lagos which announced the suspension of Kwankwaso were suspended members of the party and subsequently expelled.
“ Naturally, their meeting was null and void and had no effect.”Kwankwaso’s faction said.
This crisis and other subsequence internal challenges put NNPP in to a dilemma at the National level as the party is divided into two
The defection of the former National Chairman Alkali to APC
Ahmed Rufa’i Alkali who is the former National Chairman of NNPP is Kwankwaso’s long-time Political associate they defected together with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso from PDP to the New Nigeria People’s Party in 2022.
But recently Alkali along with about 26 chieftains of NNPP switched to the ruling APC.
Those who defected with him are three governorship candidates during the 2023 election.
Kaduna State governorship candidate, Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi; Benue State governorship candidate, Prof. Bem Angwe; Yobe governorship candidate, Garba Umar; sex-GombeCommissioner for Women Affairs, Binta Bello; Gombe senatorial candidate, Abigail Albashi; Kaduna NNPP Chairman, Nuhu Audu; ex-Kaduna PDP Chairman and immediate past Secretary of NNPP (North West), Dr. Isa Shika and Kaduna senatorial candidate, Mikaih Takeaway.
Others include Kaduna Party Secretary, Major Yahaya Shinko (retd,); Kaduna Zonal Chairman, Usman Danbaba; former Cross River State Commissioner, Godwin Ettah; Gombe House of Rep candidate, Adamu Gargajiga; Benue senatorial candidate, Isaac Idu; Benue NNPP Deputy Chairman, Ihyom Asongu; ex-Benue Commissioner for Information, John Tine; Gombe House of Rep candidate, Bukar Mailafiya; and ex-Gombe Commissioner for Community Development and Poverty Alleviation, Aishatu Hashidu among others.
The development came a few days after thE Southeast chapter of the NNPP disowned the presidential candidate and leader of the party, Senator Kwankwaso, and settled for Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, who founded the party 22 years ago.
APC National Chairman Dr. Ganduje receives the former NNPP bigwigs.
The National Chairman of the ruling Party Dr.Abdullah Umar Ganduje who is the immediate past Governor of Kano State and the ark Kwankwaso’s Political rival received the defectors in the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.
Explaining why they switched allegiance from the NNPP to the APC, Professor Alkali told newsmen that they found the ruling party to be an accommodating platform for any serious politician.
“Mr Chairman sir, before you today are some of the leading members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, indeed the cream of the party who recently resigned from the party. As Your Excellency may be aware, most of us seated here participated actively in building and strengthening the NNPP political base as a formidable political movement that enabled the party to field candidates in virtually every electable position throughout the 36 States of the Federation and Abuja.
“We took time to consult widely with our friends, associates and supporters before we concluded that following our departure from the NNPP and PDP, if we must advance, our next destination should be the APC. As usual, we know the temptation for some people is to say that we are joining the APC now because it is the ruling party at the federal level in the country, but as far as we are concerned, this is far from the truth.
To us, the APC is more accommodating. We are even more convinced that there is a sense of urgency to address the political, economic, and social issues that confront our country to bring greater good to the greater number of Nigerians, especially the poor, the underprivileged, the women, the youth and other vulnerable groups in our society. And we believe His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will see us through.”Former NNPP National Chairman Said.
APC National Chairman’s response
Welcoming the former NNPP chieftains, Ganduje told them that he knew much about the merger that evolved into the present NNPP.
“It was a decent party before it was bought and polluted by the Kwankwasiyya (movement). But you have done well by retracing your step to the right party, which is the APC. I promise to convey your congratulatory message to President Bola Tinubu and arrange for you to meet him face to face,” he said.
He also pledged to treat them as equals with all party members from the National to the world level.
Yakubu Shendam, is the NNPP’s National Publicity secretary .He said that the defection meant little or nothing to the party.
While describing the defectors as lightweight politicians, Shendam said he prayed Alkali and others wouldn’t become a liability to the ruling party.
“There is no cause for alarm. But I don’t want to agree with you that Alkali and others are leaving the NNPP for the APC. No, these people have left the party immediately after the presidential election. We know Alkali has been looking for where to perch since then.
“Party politics is always like that. People will cross over from here to the other side. You will recall that immediately after the presidential election, there was a lot of defection from one party to the other. It is not a new thing.
Anybody is free to refer to them as chieftains. But what were their contributions during the last presidential election? What did they deliver? We only groomed and gave them a soft landing while they were here. They are just regular traders jumping from one party to the other.
We won’t miss them. The party is healthy. We have a gladiator in Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and he has enough shock absorbers to sustain the party. We wish them well and hope they don’t become a liability wherever they are going.”The NNPP National Publicity Secretary says.
However the fact is that NNPP made a big loss at this critical time that the party is battling a legal tussle in the Court of Appeal against the governorship election Petition Tribunal verdict which invalidated the election of its only gubernatorial seat ,that of Kano State.
It is also worth noting that the defection of these bigwigs is retrogressive to the political ambition of the 67 years old National leader of the Party Senator Keankwaso whose main ambition is to be the President of Nigeria, as these defectors are from across the Country.
To be candid, the opinion expressed by the NNPP Publicity Secretary of the NNPP referring to Personalities like Professor Alkali who is the former National Chairman of the party as lightweight Politicians is uncalled for considering the role such people played in making the party popularity towards the 2023 general elections.
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