The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has dismissed allegations by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that the federal government is behind the internal crisis within the party.
The party made it clear that the federal government has no involvement in the expulsion of its 2023 presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, or the suspension of Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf.
In a statement from Abeokuta, Ogun State, NNPP’s National Secretary, Oginni Sunday, described El-Rufai’s remarks as baseless.
He accused the former governor of making false claims after recently leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
El-Rufai, who recently defected from APC to SDP, alleged that the ruling party was manipulating crises within opposition parties, including NNPP, Labour Party, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
However, NNPP dismissed these claims, questioning why El-Rufai would accuse the government of influencing decisions that were made within the party itself.
The statement also brought up past events, recalling how Kwankwaso allegedly pleaded with NNPP’s founder, Boniface Aniebonam, in 2022 to secure the party’s platform for the 2023 election.
It further accused Kwankwaso of mismanaging party funds and making unilateral decisions, such as changing NNPP’s logo and colors to those of his personal political movement.
NNPP also alleged that Kwankwaso moved the party’s decision-making process to his residence in Maitama, Abuja, sidelining key members while selecting candidates for the 2023 elections.
The party questioned whether the federal government played a role in these actions, including an ongoing fraud investigation against Kwankwaso involving over N2.5 billion.
Additionally, the party accused Kwankwaso and his allies of refusing to cooperate with its disciplinary committee and criticized his alleged attempts to hijack the party’s leadership.
It warned El-Rufai to retract his statement within 48 hours or face legal action for defamation.
Leave a Reply