By Joyce Ekeh
The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has warned the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso could turn against them after the 2027 presidential election.
The party based its prediction on what it described as Kwankwaso’s political antecedents, particularly his relationship with the NNPP after he contested the 2023 presidential election on its platform.
National Secretary-General of the NNPP, Mr Ogini Olaposi, who made the allegation in a statement yesterday, described Obi’s decision to pick Kwankwaso as his running mate as a “gross mistake”, urging the NDC to scrutinise the former Kano State governor’s political history.
Olaposi said the NNPP provided Kwankwaso with the platform to contest the 2023 presidential election but was subsequently plunged into crisis following disagreements over the party’s structure and leadership.
According to him, the experience should serve as a warning to Obi and the NDC ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said: “Once a betrayer, always a betrayer, and posterity will prove us right.
“Kwankwaso dragged a party that brought him to the limelight in the presidential contest, freely gave him a platform and did all it could to support him, and now thinks he is free from the wrath of God?”
The NNPP chieftain argued that Kwankwaso’s emergence as a major figure in the 2027 opposition negotiations was partly made possible by the opportunity the party gave him in 2023.
“The rare opportunity NNPP gave to Kwankwaso in 2023, in addition to a free ticket, is what has brought him to the frontline of negotiations at the presidential level in Nigeria at the moment,” he said.
Olaposi alleged that Kwankwaso’s subsequent actions contributed to the crisis within the NNPP and the departure of some party members.
“We will not forget in a hurry how he destroyed the party, leading to our members leaving in droves. He will betray the NDC in the same manner shortly,” he alleged.
He also rejected claims that the NNPP was effectively handed over to Kwankwaso by its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam.
“It is preposterous and unthinkable to assert that we dashed what belongs to the Board of Trustees of a registered political party out, without handing over the original certificate of registration,” Olaposi said.
The NNPP secretary-general further warned Obi and the NDC against relying solely on Obi’s personal popularity to secure victory in 2027.
He said voters would also consider the antecedents of the vice-presidential candidate, given the constitutional possibility of a vice-president succeeding the president.
“One candidate in a party alone cannot guarantee victory. People will also look at the antecedents of the running mate because, in the event of any happenstance, the vice-president may become the president.
“Nigerians know this and the NDC will understand it at the polls,” he said.
Olaposi also dismissed the significance of large crowds at opposition rallies, saying attendance at political gatherings should not automatically be interpreted as electoral support.
“Pulling rented crowds at rallies is not tantamount to votes. The same crowd will be paid to be everywhere else,” he said.
He urged the founder of the NDC, Mr Seriake Dickson, to remain vigilant and ensure that the party’s structure was not compromised.
“It is our hope that Seriake Dickson, founder of NDC, shall be on the alert and ensure that his co-founders are duly activated to protect the structure of NDC from Kwankwaso,” Olaposi said.
He also appealed to NNPP members who had left the party to return ahead of the 2027 general elections.
