Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. From what Nigerian voters exhibited during the 2023 Presidential election Peter Obi the former governor of Anambra State and the Labour Party Presidential candidate indicated that the politician can create a new atmosphere in the Nigerian politics hitherto dominated by the ruling APC and PDP for 24 years.
Not only Obi who emerged third during the Presidential poll but Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso ,the Presidential flag bearer of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) .The former Kano State governor came forth in the 2023 Presidential election.
Without these two Politicians who are both former PDP members .The Labour Party and NNPP were nothing politically before Obi and Kwankwaso joined them .
The Origin of Labour Party
The Party was formed in 2002 by the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) as the Party for Social Democracy .The party name was officially changed to the Labour Party after the 2003 general election .
In 2007 the party won the governorship election in Ondo State with Olusegun Mimiko as Candidate.It ruled the south west state for eight years.
The party played a significant role during the 2023 Presidential election as it emerged third after APC and PDP.It also produced a governor in Abia State and National Assembly members from different parts of the country.
The Presidential Candidate of the Party Peter Obi was the running mate of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the 2019 election under PDP which they emerged second after Muhammadu Buhari of APC.
Kwankwaso as NNPP Presidential Candidate
The New Nigeria Peoples Party was registered in 2002 byDr. Boniface Aniebonam .The party was not known by many Nigerians until in 2022 when former Kano State governor Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso joined the party which he subsequently emerged as the Presidential Candidate.
The Party came fourth during the 2023 Presidential poll
This development allowed the party to have wider followership across the country particularly in states like Kano which the Party produced the present state governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
NNPP also produced National Assembly and state Assembly members in Kano State.
The party is now a force to be reckoned with as Kwankwaso’s political movement Kwankwasiyya joined the party with its large followers.
Reincarnation of LP and NNPP by Obi and Kwankwaso
Smart Kalu is a communication strategist and political affairs analyst.He described the Labour popularity during the 2023 election with the quest of Nigerians to positive change.
Nigerian youths were very active towards the 2023 elections as they experienced negligence during the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari.
“Issues of EndSARS and bringing back our girls movement contributed immensely in drawing youths to join political activities.
At that time Obi was seen as an alternative leader as Buhari and his Party woefully failed”He said .
The analyst added that Peter Obi’s Political calculation and Atiku’s refusal to persuade with hiM was the reason behind the Tinubu’s emergency as the President of Nigeria hence Peter Obi’s relevance is now witnessed by the former Vice President and the PDP Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
The Labour Party which is in a different crisis of leadership has not been heard since after the tenure of Mimiko in Ondo State,but with Obi in the Party ,it is now reincarnated.
Kwankwaso boost the NNPP
Hisham Habib is an experienced Journalist and the former Kano State Chairman of NNPP .He asserted that the entry of Kwankwaso into NNPP has uplifted the party more than its entire years of existence .
“As a member who witnessed the party’s activities before and after Kwankwaso joined the party with his supporters”He said.
Hisham added that the party was at its lowest ebb and the leadership has not been able to resuscitate the weak structures especially in the states stressing that the founder of the party Dr. Boniface Aniebonam and his loyalist should be grateful to God for routing Kwankwaso to a Party which cannot sponsor delegates to a convention talk less of winning at the polls.
“Kwankwaso’s entrance brought NNPP the first major victory that was spectacular and unimaginable,we won the Governorship with the highest number in the country that no other governor was voted with a million votes , this is a milestone and a feat ,moreover the party’s presence at the national Assembly was unprecedented ” Habib said
The ex Kano State NNPP chairman said Nigerians trooped into the party because of the former defense minister and majority of the members nationwide see Kwankwaso as the leader which naturally puts him in front considering his antecedents in the political landscape.
In Conclusion these two Politicians Peter Obi and Kwankwaso have the political capacity to turn any unknown party into known.
As the two analysts Smart Kalu and Hisham Habib expressed, Obi is a great political asset that no party can afford to miss , not only the Labour Party. In the same vein Kwankwaso is an asset that should be held by any political party that is fortunate to have his kind as member.
The NNPP internal crisis is just an outcome of having personalities like Kwankwaso ,as without him no one will pay attention to the almost non existing political party like it.
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