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Dr Boniface Aniebonam, founder and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has said the party would not repeat the mistake it made with its 2023 presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, over its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election
He said the party’s final 2027 presidential candidate would not get an automatic ticket but would be subjected to proper screening to determine competitiveness and loyalty to the party and its leadership.
Aniebonam said this in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.
Recall that the NNPP, on Tuesday, announced that it has uploaded a placeholder presidential candidate on the Independent National Electoral Commission portal ahead of the 2027 general elections, in line with electoral guidelines.
The NNPP founder disclosed that the party already has three serious presidential aspirants that shall be screened and adopted by the party in due time to replace the placeholder
“We had a lot of delays due to long drawn litigations, trying to stop Kwankwaso from hijacking the NNPP, in addition to this, INEC also worsened the situation for it’s non compliance to court orders on time
“Aside from the delays, the internal wranglings caused by Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya group also led to defection of some of our members to other political parties.
“However NNPP is not deterred. We know that at the end, our aspirants will still make their mark in states and other positions.”
Aniebonam said the NNPP, in its upcoming emergency NEC meeting, would be discussing the date for the concessions for particular set of candidates, and abridged nomination fees .
He said the NEC is equally to ratify the proposed litigation against INEC before their lawyers shall proceed to the federal high court to press for damage.
Aniebonam said that it is so sad and regrettable that INEC under the leadership of Prof of law and a senior advocate of Nigeria can braznely disobey court orders with such impunity.
The NNPP founder urged members who had left due to the internal crisis to return, promising a level playing ground for all.
“Our ticket is reasonable and responsible, female aspirants and physically challenged are granted concession. However we are not opposed to agreements with other parties in some areas of contests depending on our aspirants and decision to members
“We remain open to discussions with other political parties of like minds and ideologies.
We are grateful to God that Kwankwaso did not succeed in hijacking our party. He betrayed us and we live him to God,” Aniebonam added.
