The national publicity secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ladipo Johnson, has dismissed reports that the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwakwanso, is considering defection.
recall that last Thursday in Enugu, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, officially announced his defection to the ADC, saying, “This decision is guided solely by patriotism and national interest.
“I now respectfully call on my political associates, the Obidient Movement and opposition leaders across the country to join this broad national coalition under the African Democratic Congress. History will not forgive silence in moments of national peril.”
With his defection, Obi thus joined former Rivers State governor and the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and former vice president Atiku Abubakar to vie for the presidential ticket of the ADC for the 2027 general election which is just some months away now.
Also, there are reports (not in Tribune) also linking Kwakwanso to the ADC that he (Kwakwanso) has been pencilled down as vice presidential candidate to Obi for 2027.
The NNPP, where Kwakwanso is the national leader, has also been enmeshed in a defection rumour of the Kano State governor, Abba Yusuf, considering moving to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) after allegedly falling out with Kwakwanso and other party leaders and this has led to accusations and counter accusations within the NNPP.
But speaking in an exclusive interview with Sunday Tribune in Abuja, NNPP spokesman, Johnson, said although Kwakwanso is meeting with different groups, parties and organisations, the former Kano State governor is not considering moving to any party for now.
“What I would say is that Senator Kwakwanso at the moment has no intention of moving left or right. But he’s in talks with several people.
And within the shortest possible time, I believe that by the end of January, we would be able to… you would know which way the NNPP would be going towards the 2027 election.
“It is natural that at this stage people would assume that yes, he’s going to the ADC. But as I said earlier, these reports are everywhere. He’s talking to various people, various parties and organisations.
And I’m sure that very shortly, we will all know what steps we will be taking as a party towards 2027,” Johnson said.
The APC, as at the last count, has about 26 governors in its fold and with the latest entrance of Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State joining the fray, Nigerians look forward to a very interesting time and will decide who lead them as the next general election approaches.