The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has blasted its 2023 presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, over comments that his exit from the party was driven by external forces,
In a statement on Sunday, the NNPP described Kwankwaso’s remarks as misleading.
The NNPP founder, Boniface Aniebonam, dismissed the claim, insisting that Kwankwaso’s exit was self-inflicted.
He added that the former presidential candidate’s departure, alongside associates such as Buba Galadima and Dr Ahmed Ajuji, stemmed from an alleged attempt to take control of the party.
Aniebonam further stated that the crisis within the NNPP was triggered by internal struggles rather than any external interference.
“Your exit is never driven by external forces. Kwankwaso has always been his own personal problem. The exit of Kwankwaso and others was not influenced externally but by his intense bid to take over a party he did not register,” he said.
He further accused Kwankwaso of a pattern of attributing personal political setbacks to outside forces, he linked it to broader developments within the party, referencing the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to the All Progressives Congress and describing it as fallout from internal mismanagement.
According to the NNPP founder, the expulsion of Kwankwaso and Galadima from the party had been upheld by the courts, maintaining that their actions, including alleged attempts to alter the party’s structure and identity, escalated internal disputes.
He added that the Memorandum of Association between the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement was strictly for the 2023 general elections, which provided Kwankwaso the platform to contest the presidency.
