NNPP National Chair: “We’re Not APC’s Appendage”

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

Prof. Alkali Rufai, national chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has urged All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the North West geopolitical region to avoid spreading the myth that the NNPP is a subsidiary of the APC.

Alkali, who further criticized the APC, demanded that the party take responsibility for mismanaging Nigeria’s economy and security during the last seven years rather than pursuing another term in office.

Alkali, who was National Publicity Secretary of the PDP at the time, explained why the merger talks between the NNPP and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, failed by saying it was terrible for APC members to run deceptive campaigns in which they claimed the NNPC was an extension of the APC.

Alkali questioned why the APC, which claimed that the NNPP was the same as the ruling party, would deceive the gullible electorate. He responded, “We are different from the APC; we represent a new Nigeria. Why should the members of the APC, who are running in the same election, falsely assert that we are a part of the APC?

“Do you know why they have nothing to run their campaign on? The APC should run a campaign and explain to Nigerians how their administration caused the country’s economy to collapse and how they significantly increased insecurity.
He explained why Obi and the NNPP’s merger negotiations failed by saying, “The technical team was supposed to debate and agree on certain aspects before the parties will come in to formalize the agreement, but as soon as talks started, they went public on social media to talk about merging. We are aware that at the time, alliance was the only option.

“We remained silent. However, they dominated the news. They just had one goal in mind: to take over the Presidency and force our leader to resign. Thus, no further topics were raised. Who will gain from such a situation? What would the advantages be? Some of them argued that while Kwankwaso is well-liked, has a large following, and has widespread support, the South East is now having its say. They were the ones who returned to town to declare that the process had stalled when it reached that point. We choose to remain silent since, in our opinion, halted processes can still move forward.

He also spoke about the reasons Senator Shekarau, a former governor of Kano State, left the NNPP, saying, “We would not comment on Shekarau’s exit, but just to say that the NNPP has moved on. Building bridges and moving Nigeria ahead are our goals.

Regarding the current gatherings of several presidential aspirants inside and outside of Nigeria, the national chairman of the NNPP stated, “What is happening now is a power display. Now it’s my turn; no policies, only financial interests, not Nigerians’ welfare. All of it is self-centered.

He stated that if there is zoning in Nigeria, it must be based on the country’s six geopolitical zones, where any resident of a geopolitical zone may run for office under democratic rules. He noted that in democracies, every position is up for grabs and one is reserved for zones; any group has the right and the entitlement to run for office as long as he or she is a Nigerian.

“We have to move away from primordial sentiments,” he said, adding that the only thing at stake is for the person to address security and economic issues.