The National Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr. Ogini Olaposi, has dismissed reports that the party is planning to merge with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement issued on Monday in Lagos, Olaposi clarified that it is Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya Movement that are preparing to join the APC, not the NNPP as a political party.
Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor and the NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate, had on Saturday announced that he and his loyalists were ready to align with the ruling APC. However, he cautioned that his political movement would not allow itself to be used during elections and abandoned afterward.
Reacting, Olaposi said Kwankwaso’s declaration confirmed the party’s earlier position that he and his followers were no longer part of the NNPP.
“At last, we have been vindicated. All negotiations by any party with Kwankwaso should be done in his individual capacity,” he stated.
He explained that the expulsion of the Kwankwasiyya Movement from the NNPP was due to anti-party activities, adding that their exit had freed the party from persistent internal resistance.
“The NNPP has nothing against the ruling party and, if at any point ahead of the 2027 general elections we think we should enter into an alliance with the APC or any other, it will be decided collectively by our members,” Olaposi said.
He stressed that the NNPP is currently focused on restructuring its internal systems and preparing for upcoming elections nationwide following the crisis and litigations linked to Kwankwaso and his supporters.