The Leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Boniface Aniebonam, has described as divine intervention, the current gale of defections into the party from other political parties domiciled in the country.
Mr Aniebonam disclosed to newsmen on Sunday, 15th May 2022 in Lagos State that an erstwhile Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso had ushered in ‘high ranking and huge membership’ into the party in less than three months.
According to the party leader, it was NNPP’s divine time to provide leadership that’s poised to create a new Nigeria.
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It could be recalled that, in recent times, ahead of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, there has been a gale of defections into the NNPP in various states across the country, particularly in Kano, Jigawa, and Kaduna.
Ten PDP lawmakers and three APC lawmakers in Kano had recently defected to the NNPP while the Deputy Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Zubairu Massu also on Friday, 13th May 2022 defected from the APC to the NNPP, alongside some other former lawmakers.
In a related development, in Osun State, a chieftain of the APC in the person of Muslihudeen Adekilekun, on Saturday, 14th May 2022 stated that he had defected to the NNPP.
As if that wasn’t enough, the current Chief of Staff of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Ali Makoda, led other notable politicians in the Kano North Senatorial District, to the NNPP on Saturday, 14th May 2022.
Mr Aniebonam, who is reportedly the Founder of the NNPP, further boasted before newsmen that in 21 years of its existence, the party now had offices in all parts across the federation.
He said, “the party is gradually becoming a movement”, hence urging Nigerians to join the winning team. “We are the beautiful bride in the North as it is and we hope to expand to all parts of Nigeria as the best option for Nigerians.”
He assured that, “as a party with a divine mandate”, the NNPP would ensure that its primaries were fair to all, including the new entrants.
Mr Aniebonam went ahead to state that the party planned to translate Nigeria from being a “consumption nation to a producing state” to address the present economic challenges facing the country.
According to the statesman, the basis of some of the challenges facing the nation was because the country was no longer producing all it consumed, among other related issues.
The NNPP founder mentioned that the panacea to youth engagement was to move Nigeria from being a consumption nation to a producing nation, saying the NNPP was committed to engaging the Nigerian youth by reviving all moribund industries in the country to gainfully engage them.
Mr Aniebonam said that the NNPP would invest in education and encourage both the learners and educators, saying the party would provide the right leadership to address most of the current challenges facing the nation.
On women’s inclusion in politics, Mr Aniebonam replied that women were more prudent because of the ‘fear of God’ in them, hence the commitment of the party to provide them good representation in governance.
Mr Aniebonam, however, observed that not many women were coming out to contest elective positions, saying “power is never served but taken”. He therefore disclosed that the NNPP platform was available for women who wanted to join in the movement for creating a new Nigeria, adding that the cost of nomination and expression of interest forms had been reduced for the womenfolk.
The party leader further disclosed that a woman would be contesting the governorship election in Ogun State come 2023 on the platform of the NNPP, and there could be more of them in the nearest future.
“What we need to do more now is to empower these women through appointments. With that, they will grow and be able to move in for elections.” he opined.
With what is trending presently in Nigeria’s political space, the NNPP might be a party to contend with in the impending elections. No doubt, if the pace of the ongoing defections continues in the coming days, then the NNPC is a party to watch, or could be a ‘beautiful bride’ as rightly opined by the leader.
There are strong speculations that the party is making a move to merge with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) towards producing a formidable presidential candidate ahead of the polls.
As the odyssey becomes more interesting and scintillating, the electorate are advised to observe wisely toward making good meaning from the scene.