The defections of Representative Abdulmuni Jibrin to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Oluremi Oguntoyinbo to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been attributed by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to Rabiu Kwankwaso’s anti-party actions and betrayal of trust.
Jibrin, a former director-general of President Bola Tinubu’s Support Groups, reportedly declared his support for Tinubu’s reelection in 2027 and announced his return to the APC on Monday.
Additionally, Oguntoyinbo, a former NNPP candidate for Ogun governor, formally quit the party on Monday and joined the PDP.
Ogini Olaposi, the National Secretary of the NNPP, said in a statement on Tuesday that Kwankwaso and his followers’ preventable leadership crisis was the cause of the party’s wave of defections.
“The NNPP faced a series of litigations and still faces a leadership crisis when Kwankwaso and his movement tried to hijack the party’s leadership and structures,” the statement said. In Kano, a large number of our strategic members joined the APC after leaving our party.
“We pretend to practice democracy, but no serious politician would want to be in a political party where each individual views himself as the beginning and finish of decision-making.
Unfortunately, Kwankwaso and his supporters violated the confidence that Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the NNPP’s founder and chairman of the board of trustees, had placed in them.
“Our party has been plagued by the preventable betrayal of trust by our founder, who granted Kwankwaso the party’s presidential ticket at no cost.
We are not shocked by the alignments in the run-up to the 2027 general elections, since many members are relocating to areas where they will be important and running in elections free from power abuse and political tradership.
Olaposi went on to say that the party encourages members of other parties to join its ranks and has no problem with people defecting.
“Every Nigerian has the right to choose the party they wish to belong to,” he emphasized. Due to our internal leadership crisis, the defectors joined another party voluntarily rather than under pressure.
“As a political party, we believe in honesty and integrity and are not desperate; politics is not a do-or-die endeavor.
“Nigerian political parties have ideologies. Since a person’s identity is greatly influenced by their loyalty to an ideology, members of the NNPP are free to quit if they no longer share it, while those who do are free to stay or join.
Olaposi stated that in order for the party to actively engage in the 2027 elections and beyond, it is still expecting that INEC’s new administration can quickly address the NNPP leadership situation.
“We hope that INEC should not wait for a compelling order of the court to obey valid court judgments,” he continued.
“We will regain control of our party; we urge all of our members and prospective members to remain composed and law-abiding.”
