Gbenga Adamolekun
Kano: He gave them his party, his platform, and in 2023, even handed him a free presidential ticket. Now, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso is walking out the door — and NNPP Founder Dr Boniface Aniebonam has just one word for it: good riddance.
Speaking through a statement on Sunday, Aniebonam drew a hard line — the NNPP is not following Kwankwaso to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and if his new political adventure crumbles, he should not bother looking back.
Specifically, Kwankwaso, in his own statement on Sunday, formally announced his resignation from the NNPP with immediate effect.
He said: “I seize this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the honour and privilege of serving as the NNPP 2023 presidential candidate.
“As a committed and bona fide member of the party, this was not an easy decision to make.”
According to Kwankwaso, the current political landscape calls for strategic realignment. He found it necessary to identify with another party that offers the best way to change the nation.
Looking ahead, Kwankwaso is scheduled to officially join the ADC on Monday, March 30.
In a memo on Saturday, Dr Ahmed Ajuji, NNPP former national chairman and member of the Kwankwasiya Movement, urged the NNPP National Working Committee members, state chairmen, as well as all office holders of the party from national to ward, to remain in their respective positions and continue their work within the party.
Ajuji had said that, except for those who wished to resign and pursue other political careers, others should remain in the NNPP, as there are moves to unify the party and withdraw all litigations.
Aniebonam said that, despite wishing Kwankwaso good luck in his endeavours, the NNPP would not be his fallback party if he failed in the ADC.
He said: “We are not joining ADC; most of our members in Kano state went to APC. Only members of the Kwankwasiya movement left may join their leader to the ADC.
“Ajuji and members of the Kwankwasiya movement, including Kwankwaso and Elder Buba Galadima, have long been expelled from the NNPP. We won our cases in court against them. Ajuji, therefore, cannot tell us what to do.
“Most of our members, including our sole governor, Yusuf Ahmed of Kano state, left for the APC. They did so because of our escalating court cases.”
“It is, therefore, funny to see Ajuji signing such a memo when we all know he belongs to the Kwankwasiya movement and is a recognised member of the Agbo Major-led NWC of the NNPP.
“The NNPP will not accept Kwankwaso back into its fold nor allow him to ever fly our flag again for whatever position.”
Aniebonam noted that the body language showed something. The few people left in the Kwankwasiya movement did not believe in ADC or in Kwankwaso’s ability to survive there.
He said the NNPP had already begun consultations with aspirants for the 2027 presidential elections, adding that all aspirants would have to undergo the party’s primaries, unlike in 2023, when they handed over their presidential ticket to Kwankwaso for free, who later betrayed them.
“We will not make the same mistakes again. The NNPP is willing to accept members who defected to other parties back into its fold, but never those expelled for anti-party activities.
“We are actually relieved to see Kwankwaso join a new party, as that will usher in the peace that had long eluded members, ever since Kwankwaso began his moves to hijack the NNPP.
“We are also not averse to collaborations with parties of similar ideologies, but it will be decided by members in the build-up to the 2027 general elections,” Aniebonam added.
