A faction of Nigeria’s New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has rejected attempts by Rabiu Kwankwaso, its 2023 presidential candidate, to position the party for political alliances ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a statement on Friday, Agbo Major, who leads a rival faction of the NNPP, dismissed as “null and void” a National Executive Council meeting convened by Kwankwaso’s supporters in Abuja a day earlier. He said the gathering had no authority to alter existing party decisions or override judgments of the Abia and FCT high courts on the party’s leadership.
Major accused Kwankwaso of “betrayal of trust” and warned that any alliance negotiated through his Kwankwasiyya movement under the NNPP banner would be “at the risk” of those entering it. He also criticised Kwankwaso’s recent comments accusing the federal government of neglecting the north, describing them as “a classical example” of his divisive approach.
The factional chairman said the party was awaiting confirmation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload details of its new leadership, which he claimed emerged from a court-ordered convention.
“NNPP is not closed to alliance with sister political parties if there is a need,” Major said, “but it must not be for the purposes of fighting a personal vendetta. We shall not allow betrayals of our ticket again as we did in 2023.”
The NNPP, once seen as a rising force after Kwankwaso’s presidential bid, has been riven by internal disputes and legal battles over control of the party since the last general elections.
