The national chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Agbo Major, says Rabiu Kwankwaso, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, does not have a say in its alliances ahead of 2027.

Mr Major was reacting to Kwankwaso’s speech at a meeting of his Kwankwasiyya group on Thursday in Abuja, where he announced that the NNPP is open to alliances in 2027.

The controversy and tussle over the NNPP leadership has continued to linger, with  the party writing to INEC to be decisive on the matter of effecting changes in their old records. 

While Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya Movement continued to claim ownership of the party, the Major-led national executives of the party insisted that the memorandum of understanding with the Movement had ended after the 2023 general elections and that Kwankwaso and his group had been expelled for alleged anti-party activities.

Major said in a statement on Friday in Lagos that the National Executive Council meeting held by the Kwankwasiya Movement in Abuja on Thursday, in the name of NNPP, is null and void.

He stated that decisions made during the meeting cannot alter the party’s decision or the judgments of the Abia and Federal Capital Territory courts regarding the leadership of the NNPP.

“Aside from the obvious betrayal of trust, we regret that Kwankwaso has continued to use the NNPP name to make  negotiations and  comments that may cause unrest in the country. The recent statement by Kwankwaso accusing the federal government of neglecting the North in projects is a classical example,” said the NNPP chief.

The national chairman stated that the NNPP was awaiting INEC’s response to its letter, demanding that the commission upload the new leadership of the party that resulted from a court-ordered convention.

“Any Nigerian entering into any alliance with Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya group on the basis of the NNPP will be doing so at their own risk. Our party is open to every Nigerian and shall   provide equal opportunities for aspirants to  undergo mandatory primaries. We shall not allow betrayals of our ticket again as we did  in 2023.

“NNPP is not  closed to alliance with sister political parties if there is need but it must not be for the purposes of fighting a personal vendetta. It is our hope that INEC as a federal institution should understand the essence of rule of law and order in a civil society and do the needful,” Major added.

(NAN)