The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has set the record straight, reminding former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that it is not a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition.
The party made the clarification on Thursday in a statement released by its National Secretary, Olaposi Oginni.
In the statement, the scribe clarified that the NNPP has no intention of joining or collapsing into the ADC.
“We are surprised that Abubakar, a frontline presidential aspirant of the ADC, could make such an assertion—that the NNPP is now part of the ADC,” Oginni said.
He was responding to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) stating that Atiku, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV, included the NNPP as a member of the ADC coalition group.
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Reacting to the claim, Oginni noted that the decision of the former Governor of Kano, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and the Kwankwasiyya Movement to join the ADC does not mean the entire NNPP membership has moved to the party.
He further explained that the Memorandum of Association the party held with the Kwankwasiyya Movement expired after the 2023 general elections, adding that the ex governor and others had subsequently been expelled.
“Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya Movement are members of the coalition group, and there is verifiable evidence that some members of that group followed Kwankwaso to the new party,” Oginni stated.
“The NNPP is not pursuing any individual or group; it is merely a political party seeking to contest elections in Nigeria like any other. While we have nothing against the ADC, we have no desire to be part of it.
“The Memorandum of Association we had with the Kwankwasiyya Movement expired after the 2023 general elections. Kwankwaso and others were also expelled from the NNPP. We can also confirm that some members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement joined the APC with their leader,” he added.
The NNPP further noted that the Kwankwasiyya members who followed Kwankwaso were in the minority, claiming that the majority of them have since joined the APC.
The party concluded by expressing its hope that the ADC was not deceived by the “rented crowd” seen in Kano when the former governor joined their ranks.