A new internal crisis has hit the Ondo State chapter of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) following the replacement of Oluwatosin Ayeni with Gbenga Edema as the party’s governorship candidate on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.
The NNPP’s Acting National Secretary, Comrade Sunday Ogini, condemned the move, alleging that supporters of the party’s former presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, were behind the change, which he deemed unacceptable. Ogini emphasized that Kwankwaso, having been expelled from the party, had no authority to replace the candidate chosen in the party’s primaries.
Gbenga Edema, a lawyer and former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was announced as the NNPP’s governorship candidate on June 5, 2024, following the withdrawal of Oluwatosin Ayeni, who had initially been chosen as a placeholder. The Ondo State Chairman of the NNPP, Peter Olagookun, stated that Ayeni stepped down voluntarily to allow for what the party believed to be a stronger candidate.
However, Ogini refuted these claims, announcing that the party leadership had taken INEC to court for accepting the replacement of Ayeni with Edema, accusing Kwankwaso’s loyalists of orchestrating the move. He referred to these supporters as “fake members” following the expulsion of Kwankwaso from the NNPP.
Ogini further declared that Engr. Akintan Michael is now recognized as the party’s official governorship candidate, with Chief Mrs. Kemi Fasua as his deputy. The NNPP’s leadership, with the backing of party founder Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Akure, seeking to compel INEC to update the candidates accordingly.
In addition, the party leadership is pursuing a separate legal case against Edema at the Ondo State High Court, challenging his candidacy on the grounds that he remains a member of the APC and was unlawfully nominated by supporters of Kwankwaso. The NNPP’s Southwest leaders have declared Edema as “persona non grata” within the party.
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