The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) says it will not repeat the mistake it made with its 2023 presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, in choosing its 2027 presidential candidate.

The party’s founder and chairman of the Board of Trustees, Boniface Aniebonam, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

Mr Aniebonam said the party’s final 2027 presidential candidate will not get an automatic free ticket but would be subjected to proper screening to determine their competitiveness and loyalty to the party and its leadership.

The NNPP announced on Tuesday that it has uploaded a placeholder presidential candidate on the Independent National Electoral Commission portal ahead of the 2027 general elections, in line with electoral guidelines.

Mr Aniebonam disclosed that the party already has three serious presidential aspirants that shall be screened and adopted by the party in due time to replace the placeholder.

“We had a lot of delays due to long-drawn litigations trying to stop Kwankwaso from hijacking the NNPP. In addition to this, INEC also worsened the situation for its non-compliance with court orders on time.

“Aside from the delays, the internal wranglings caused by Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya group also led to the defection of some of our members to other political parties.

”NNPP is not deterred. We know that at the end, our aspirants will still make their mark in states and other positions,” the party’s founder said.

Mr Aniebonam said the NNPP, in its upcoming emergency NEC meeting, would be discussing the date for the concessions for a particular set of candidates and abridged nomination fees.

He said the NEC was also to ratify the proposed litigation against INEC before their lawyers proceed to the Federal High Court to press for damages.

Mr Aniebonam said it was sad that INEC, under the leadership of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, can brazenly disobey court orders with such impunity.

The NNPP founder urged members who had left due to the internal crisis to return, promising a level playing ground for all.

“Our ticket is reasonable and responsible; female aspirants and the physically challenged are granted concessions.

“We are not opposed to agreements with other parties in some areas of contests, depending on our aspirants and the decision of members. We remain open to discussions with other political parties of like ideologies.

“We are grateful to God that Kwankwaso did not succeed in hijacking our party. He betrayed us, and we leave him to God,” Mr Aniebonam added.

(NAN)