The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) National Secretary, Olaposi Oginni, stated that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the party’s presidential candidate, ought to bear the responsibility for the manner in which the Election Tribunal and the Appeal Court dismissed Kano Governor Abba Yusuf.
Recall that Yusuf of the NNPP was proclaimed the victor of the Kano State gubernatorial election held on March 18.
But if the Supreme Court upholds the decisions of the tribunal and the Appeal Court, the governor would soon lose his seat to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In response, the NNPP Secretary accused Kwankwaso of purported irregularities and election malpractices, claiming that he had a significant role in the Kano Governor’s dismissal.
The Kano governor’s suffering was attributed by Oginni to “Kwankwaso’s greed and his insatiable search for power and relevance.”
The NNPP leader insisted in a statement that Kwankwaso’s purported orchestration of internal democracy was the reason behind the Kano defeat.
In his view, the party disregarded pertinent constitutional criteria ever since Kwankwaso was selected as the party’s nominee.
He said that the names of those who abstained from the party’s primary were entered as candidates on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) website.
He claimed, “It is regrettable that unholy activities in Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s Maitama house in the run-up to the 2023 General Election resulted in the unnecessary embarrassment of the removal of Kano State Governor to Kwankwaso’s bedroom as the Party Situation Room.”
He asserted that Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya faction entered the NNPP and took control of the party hierarchy at all levels, claiming Kwankwaso gave the order to load candidates’ names into the system whether or not primaries were held.
According to Ogunni, Kwankwaso posted the name of Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, the governorship candidate in Ogun State who did not run in the primary to succeed Jobi Fayoyin.
“There is no doubt that Kwankwaso’s orchestrated lack of internal democracy was the primary cause of the Kano tragedy,” he declared.
Speaking further, Oginni stated that Kwankwaso and the party’s former National Working Committee, which had approved a resolution calling for the expulsion of Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, the NNPP’s founder, were being pursued by nemesis.
He asked Gov. Yusuf and the former governor of Kano to publicly apologize to Aniebonam for causing the NNPP unnecessary inconvenience, and he demanded the former governor to acknowledge Aniebonam as the organization’s founder and spiritual leader.
He asserted that this needed to be completed prior to the Supreme Court’s ultimate decision, adding, “I firmly believe it is not over until it’s over.”
