NNPP Blames Kwankwaso’s Betrayal for Jibrin, Oguntoyinbo’s Defection to APC, PDP
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has blamed its 2023 presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso’s anti-party activities and betrayal of trust as reasons for the defections of Rep. Abdulmuni Jibrin to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Oluremi Oguntoyinbo to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Naija News reports that a former director-general of President Bola Tinubu’s Support Groups, Jibrin, on Monday, announced his return to the APC and declared support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Also, a former NNPP gubernatorial candidate in Ogun, Oguntoyinbo, officially resigned from the party on Monday and joined the PDP.
In a statement on Tuesday, NNPP’s National Secretary, Ogini Olaposi, said the gale of defections bedevilling the party was a result of an avoidable leadership crisis created by Kwankwaso and his supporters.
The statement read, “The NNPP faced a series of litigations and still faces a leadership crisis when Kwankwaso and his movement tried to hijack the party’s leadership and structures. Many of our strategic members left our party in Kano to join the APC.
“There is no responsible politician who would want to be in a political party where an individual perceives himself as the beginning and end in decision-making, and yet, we claim to practice democracy.
‘The unfortunate thing is that Kwankwaso and his followers betrayed the trust reposed in them by Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NNPP.
“The avoidable betrayal of trust of our founder, who gave the presidential ticket of the party to Kwankwaso at no cost, has continued to trail our party.
“In the build-up to the 2027 general elections, we are not surprised by the alignments, as many members are moving to where they will be relevant and contest elections void of political tradership and abuse of power.
Olaposi further stated that the party has no issue with members defecting, just as it welcomes members of other parties joining its fold.
He stressed, “It’s the right of every Nigerian to choose the party they wish to belong to. The defectors did not join another party under duress but out of their free will because of our internal leadership crisis.
“As a political party, we are not desperate; politics is not a do-or-die affair, and we believe in honesty and integrity.
“Political parties in Nigeria have ideologies… Loyalty to an ideology matters a lot in an individual’s identity; therefore, any member of the NNPP who is no longer aligned with its ideology is free to leave, and those who believe in it are free to remain or join.”
Olaposi noted that the party is still hoping for INEC’s new leadership to swiftly resolve the NNPP leadership crisis, enabling it to participate actively in the 2027 polls and beyond.
He added, “It’s our hope that INEC should not wait for a compelling order of the court to obey valid court judgements.
“We urge all our members and intending members to remain calm and law-abiding; we will regain control of our party.”