Why NNPP Pulled Out Of Lagos LG Election

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has blamed internal crisis and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the party’s inability to participate in Saturday’s local government elections across Lagos State.

The elections, which are being held in all 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), will see 15 out of the 28 registered political parties contesting, but the NNPP will be absent.

The NNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ogini Olaposi, described the party’s non-participation as “most unfortunate and regrettable,” blaming the situation on unresolved internal conflicts and administrative bottlenecks.

“We regret to inform all members of our great party, that it is indeed most unfortunate and regrettable that despite the double victory judgments we received, we could not put our house for effective campaigns and participation,” Olaposi said.

He pointed fingers at a prolonged leadership tussle within the party, particularly the internal rift sparked by a faction loyal to Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

According to him, attempts by the Kwankwaso-led group to seize control of the party’s leadership created a crisis that disrupted preparations for the grassroots polls.

“In the build-up to the election, we were still immersed in internal wrangling, following the move by the Senator Kwankwaso-led group to hijack the leadership of the NNPP,” he added.

Adding to the setback, Olaposi stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to update the party’s records, particularly regarding the recognition of its current National Working Committee (NWC) led by Dr. Agbo Major.

“We were also delayed by the inability of INEC to amend our old records and upload our authentic National Working Committee, led by Dr Agbo Major, on its server,” he stated.

The party’s inability to resolve these issues meant that, for the first time since its founding in 2001 by Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the NNPP was unable to present candidates in a local government election.

Despite the setback, Olaposi maintained that the party had made some progress and was optimistic about the future.

“It was on the strength of the issues that after an emergency meeting of the NEC on Friday in Abuja, we decided to direct our members in Lagos, led by Mrs Anikè Adebowale (state chairman) on which party to vote for,” he explained.

“To effectively win in an election, you must not just fill in candidates, you should also be ready for serious campaigns in all wards and areas of the election which we did not do,” he added.

The NNPP leadership has now urged its members in Lagos to back a political party that aligns with its own ideology, though it did not publicly name the preferred party.