All does not seem to be going well in the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), as the party, through its Board of Trustees (BoT), led by Dr. Temitope Aluko, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the proposed congress/convention slated for April 2–6, 2024.
The meeting is convened by the faction of the party led by its presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The lawsuit, labelled FHC/ABJ/CS/327/2024, was filed on March 11, with an advance copy sent to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) along with a covering letter from Barrister Monday Mawah of Templum Chambers advising the commission not to participate in the illegal congress/convention until the case is determined in court.
Subsequently, the Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled April 16 as the hearing date for the matter before Honourable Justice Obiora Egwuatu, and INEC was duly served by the court bailiff on March 28, 2024.
A press statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Abdulsalam Abdulrazaq, on Tuesday, said that the effective service of the lawsuit before Honourable Justice Obiora Egwuatu on INEC on Friday, March 28, poses another challenge for Kwankwaso’s group for the third consecutive time.
This, the statement said, is because INEC, being a neutral and unbiased entity by tradition, may decide not to participate in any factional congress/convention of the NNPP until all litigations, particularly those concerning congresses and conventions, are resolved.
Meanwhile, the National Secretary of the party, Comrade Oginni Olaposi Sunday, also disclosed that INEC has declined participation in Kwankwaso’s group’s proposed congress/convention for the last two weeks due to legal obstacles stemming from court cases.
Recall that in 2023, the NNPP’s Board of Trustees (BoT), led by Boniface Aniebonam, the party’s founder, suspended Kwankwaso over allegations of anti-party activities.
The party’s National Executive Council also established a disciplinary committee to investigate allegations of anti-party activities and mismanagement of party funds levelled against Kwankwaso.
However, a faction of the party loyal to Kwankwaso reversed the suspension.
