A Kano-based socio-political pressure group, Freedom Fighters, has accused Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), of sidelining the party’s founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam Okechukwu, after leveraging the NNPP platform to contest the 2023 presidential election.
In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Comrade Muhammad B. Bashir, and Secretary, Comrade Ahmad Salisu, the group alleged that Kwankwaso began making unilateral decisions within the NNPP without consulting its founder, including what they described as a “fraudulent and corrupt” alteration of the party’s logo.
The Freedom Fighters praised Dr. Aniebonam as a visionary who founded the NNPP in 2002 with the goal of producing a God-fearing leader capable of restoring Nigeria’s greatness. According to the group, Aniebonam quietly invested in the party’s growth and supported Kwankwaso “with a genuine heart,” only to be betrayed.
The statement also accused Kwankwaso of a history of political betrayal, claiming he abandoned several allies and leaders, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and former Kano governors Ibrahim Shekarau and Abdullahi Ganduje.
“Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is a serial betrayer and a deceiver of unsuspecting persons who may come his way,” the group declared.
The Freedom Fighters urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to comply with judgments from the Abia State High Court and the Federal Capital Territory High Court, which they said affirmed Dr. Aniebonam as the rightful leader of the NNPP. They also warned INEC against recognizing the faction led by Dr. Ahmed Ajuji, citing an Abuja High Court order restraining the commission from doing so.
“As Freedom Fighters of Kano State, we stand firmly against injustice and betrayal of trust. Nigeria must not be turned into a banana republic where the rule of law is ignored,” the statement added.
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