Like PDP, NNPP faces existential threat as crisis deepens

The likelihood of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) having an easy ride in the 2027 general election may become a reality if the current crisis rocking opposition parties in Nigeria is not resolved urgently.

Since after the 2023 general election, three of Nigeria’s major opposition parties are facing serious leadership crises that have hindered the parties from planning ahead and rebuilding ahead of 2027.

The PDP is facing internal threat with major stakeholders fighting for the soul of the party, despite efforts to resolve issues there is no hope in sight.

Since the beginning of this year, the crisis which started after the party’s presidential primary ahead of the 2023 poll has aggravated, especially the unending leadership tussle between two claimants to the national secretaryship seat, Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye.

From December 20, 2024 when Ude Okoye got a Court of Appeal order from the Enugu Division affirming him as PDP National Secretary and January 2, 2025 when Anyanwu filed an application for a stay of execution of the appeal judgement to date, the once vibrant party has been involved in crisis of attrition.

Similarly, the New Nigeria people’s Party (NNPP) which placed fourth in the 2023 general election, wining Kano State, appears to be sinking deeper in crisis after the Boniface Aniebonam camp held a national convention last week in Lagos and elected new national officer, which is in rivalry to the existing national officers and national working committee (NWC) loyal to Rabiu Kwankwaso, the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 poll.

Read also: 2027: PDP battles ‘unseen hands’ as struggle for National Secretary position tears party apart

In recent months, the Kwankwaso’s group and current NWC had consistently maintained that Aniebonam and several other party members loyal to him were expelled by last year for engaging in anti-party activities.

But last week’s convention which was held in Apapa, and attended by delegates and officers of the party at national and state levels, produced Agbo Major as the new parallel national chairman of the party.

Other elected officers are Oginni Olaposi, national secretary; Felix Chukwurah, deputy national hairman (South); Adetoyese Omokanye, national treasurer; Babayo Muhammed, deputy National chairman (North); and Abdulrasaq Abdulsallam as the national publicity secretary .

The delegates at the event also elected Aisha Kade as its national woman leader; Edward Ofomona, national youth leader, and Omolara Johnson as the national organizing secretary among others.

Aniebonam the founder and BoT leader of the party told journalists and the members that pursuant to the judgment of the court, the board had successfully repositioned and reconstituted its ward executive and up to zonal officers.

According to him, “Today, the board shall conclude its assignment through national convention to elect and establish its national working committee to take charge of its administration and management.
“In carrying out these responsibilities, INEC and other security agencies were duly notified.”

In November, an Abia State High Court, passed a judgment directing the NNPP BoT led by Aniebonam, to commence the repositioning and reconstitution of all organs of the party from ward congress to national convention.

The court equally directed INEC to recognise and deal with the new board of the NNPP.

However, the Kwankwaso-led faction of the party over the weekend rejected the recent convention that led to the election of Major as the party’s national chairman.

The faction also denounced the convention as illegitimate and reaffirmed that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), formed in 2022 under INEC supervision, remains the only lawful leadership body.

The national chairman of NNPP, Ajuji Ahmed, disclosed this in Abuja during a press briefing, accusing expelled party members of attempting to hijack the party despite multiple court rulings prohibiting them from representing NNPP.

He dismissed their recent Lagos convention as a “kangaroo gathering,” held in violation of a January 16, 2025, court injunction from the FCT High Court.

Ahmed said: “Immediately after the 2023 general elections, some members of this party who openly engaged in 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 another, 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 their confusion, 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 April 18, 2024, declared them as impostors, having been expelled by the party, and as such, they 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 had given a clear and unmistakable injunction against them holding that meeting.

“They defied the court ruling and went ahead to hold a beer parlour meeting in a hotel lobby, which they now call a National Convention.”

The faction criticised media houses for displaying the old NNPP logo, emphasizing that the legally recognized logo remains Red-White-Red with a book and an academic cap.

Ahmed also warned of external political forces sponsoring internal divisions to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.