The leadership tussle within the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) intensifies as Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s faction attempts to modify the party’s constitution and logo. The National Auditor of NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, confirmed this development in an exclusive chat.
This move follows a recent decision by Major Agbo’s faction to expel the NNPP’s presidential candidate on grounds of alleged anti-party actions and misuse of campaign finances. The expulsion, announced by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq, took place after Kwankwaso’s failure to defend himself before a disciplinary committee.
The ousting of the former Kano governor sparked internal disagreements, with party leaders pointing fingers at each other. Reports from Saturday PUNCH suggest that Kwankwaso’s side aims to revise the logo and constitution, presumably to diminish the influence of the NNPP’s founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam.
Johnson, who headed the committee responsible for recent expulsions, acknowledged the changes but refuted claims that it was a countermove against internal factionalism. “We had already debated this at the NEC. We’re taking it seriously, unlike the Agbo faction. But the logo remains unchanged. We’re brainstorming ideas with our members,” he explained.
Major Agbo, the acting National Chairman of his faction, responded by highlighting their knowledge of the situation and voiced suspicions that these changes were primarily aimed at eliminating the founder’s constitutional protection. “They realized the founder had constitutional immunity, which is why they’re keen to make amendments,” he asserted.
