The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has disowned the recent national convention held in Apapa, Lagos, by a faction of the party, accusing them of flagrantly disobeying court orders.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, NNPP national chairman, Dr. Ajuji Ahmed, alleged that expelled members were being sponsored by politicians afraid of facing the electorate in the 2027 general elections.
He claimed these individuals were attempting to destabilize the party due to the widespread weaponization of poverty in the country.
The briefing was attended by NNPP National Assembly members, led by Senator Rufai Hanga.
He said: “Let me inform you, and through you inform the world that there is only one NNPP under the leadership of my humble self as its national chairman, and this NWC, with this building as the National Headquarters of the Party known to law and to the regulating agency for political parties in Nigeria, i.e. the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Furthermore, the only logo of the NNPP that is known to law is the one with Red, White, Red colours with a book and academic cap in the middle, with the slogan EDUCATION FOR ALL. A visit to the INEC Website will confirm all this information.
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“Against the background of all these, it is clearly against the law, and against common decency, for any group under the guise of any identity different from what I have enumerated above, to refer to itself as NNPP. For this reason, therefore, the NNPP did not hold any National Convention in recent times and so we did not inaugurate any new National Working Committee (NWC).
“The current NNPP NWC was constituted in the year 2022 under the supervision of INEC as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act, 2022.
6. Let me quickly touch on the game some of these former members of this Party are playing, prodded on by some politicians who are scared of the opposition, because they are afraid of their own shadows as we march towards the 2027 elections.
Tracing the crisis in the party, the NNPP National Chairman said “immediately after the 2023 general elections, some members of this party who openly played anti-party activities were subjected to proper disciplinary procedures and were found wanting.
“They were duly sanctioned, but instead of exploring the internal mechanisms put in place by the Party to address their grievances, they decided to release themselves as willing tools to outsiders in order to distract the attention of the Party.
“They have been jumping from pillar to post, going from one court to the other, and swiftly losing one case after another, in practically every corner of the country. They have been to, and lost, in courts in Abuja, Ekiti, Port Harcourt, Awka, Kano, and Katsina, all the time desperately seeking to mislead the courts and abuse all known court processes. All those have failed.
“In November 2024, they took themselves to Court in Abia state, in the name of NNPP. Meanwhile, an Abuja Federal High Court as far back as April 2024 had ruled that, as expelled former members of the party, they should stop parading themselves as NNPP members or leaders in any shape or form. The Federal High Court judgment of 18th April, 2024, declared them as impostors, having been expelled by the party, and as such can neither sue in the name of the party nor against the party.
‘This same hired and sponsored emergency collection of characters gathered themselves in Lagos three days ago in the name of NNPP to hold a ludicrous charade of tipsy comedians, when a court of competent jurisdiction in Abuja on gave a clear and unmistakable injunction against them not to hold that meeting.
“They defied the court ruling and went ahead to hold a beer parlour meeting in a hotel lobby which they now called National Convention.
“For the purpose of clarity, on the 16th of January 2025, the High Court of FCT, gave an Order restraining them and their privies, proxies and whosoever from carrying out any official duty or activity for or on behalf of NNPP. The said orders were served on them, they have briefed their lawyers, they have appeared before the courts and filed their processes.
“Yet with brazen disregard to the orders of the court, the same group have gone ahead to hold this unlawful meeting and have purported to have elected members of a kangaroo National Working Committee. We are in court today 7th February 2025, and INEC has filed their process denying knowledge and existence of the so-called convention in Apapa and the purported election.
“By the provisions of Section 83 of the Electoral Act, INEC must monitor the activities of all political parties in Nigeria and keep records of such activities. By the provisions of Section 222(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is a condition precedent for the registration and recognition of an association as a political party.
“The greatest danger to any democracy is the disregard for the rule of law. When a group of pretentious politicians consistently defies and shows contempt for the rule of law, and openly mocks our judicial system and our courts, you begin to wonder what set of unseen hands is behind the veil pushing them.
“It must be the same obvious forces that seek to bring chaos and disorder in all other opposition parties in our democracy. For those same forces, the best case scenario in the lead up to 2027 is the absence of all opposition, knowing full well that 2027 would practically be unsurmountable for them, given the rampant weaponization of hunger and desperation across the land.
“Be that as it may, history bears witness to the unalterable fact that the true hallmark of a vibrant democracy is a robust opposition. It is this robust opposition the NNPP will continue to represent on behalf of the good people of Nigeria.”