Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Founder, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) says the party is surprised by the oral ruling of the Federal High Court, Awka, Anambra, in a suit between the NNPP and its 2023 Presidential Candidate, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The Federal High Court, sitting in Awka, in the suit filed by the NNPP & five others against Rabiu Kwankwaso & 10 others, on Friday gave an Oral Ruling on some of the issues canvased before it by the Plaintiffs.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, presiding, declined jurisdiction in the case brought by NNPP on some grounds including doubt about the legal status of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the founders of the NNPP (led by Aniebonam) and Kwankwassiyya Movement led by Kwankwaso.
Reacting, Aniebonam, also the chairman, NNPP Board of Trustees, said in Lagos that the party was taken aback with the grounds listed by the court.
He said the party led by its National Chairman, Dr Agbo Major had, through the lead counsel, Azubike Anazor, already given the trial court Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeal.
He said the NNPP would be filing additional Grounds of Appeal upon the receipt of the Written Judgment and the Record of Appeal.
“Justice will ultimately be done by the Court of Appeal when it dispassionately takes a critical look at the duly signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Founders and the Joiners of the NNPP.
“All members of the NNPP are herby urged to keep the peace of the society,” he said.
He said that members should shun all tendencies to engage in violently protest over judgments.
Explaining the ruling, Aniebonam said that the Judge stated that “in case the Appeal Court disagreed with his interpretation of that MOU reached in 2022 by the said parties, he would nevertheless not grant the prayers of the plaintiffs because, according to him, none of the parties sued in the case signed the MOU.
He explained that the judge stated that the dispute was an internal affair of the party which should have been resolved through the internal dispute resolution mechanism provided by the party’s Constitution.
The founder said that the Judge also stated that “the claim by Kwankwaso that he is Leader of the party is neither here nor there as politicians usually arrogate to themselves the title “Leader”‘.
“The Judge did not, however, give his decision on vital issues raised by the plaintiffs such as(1) the permanence and life membership of the office of Founder (Dr Aniebonam) as constitutionally provided for.
“No decision on the issues of valid expulsion of Kwankwaso, Kawu Ali, Dipo Olayokun and the others from the party for sundry anti party activities.
“No decision is also on the necessity for order on Kwankwaso to account for all monies collected during the 2022 nomination and screening exercises,” he added.
According to him, it is easily discernible that the trial Federal High Court Judge was in palpable error of judgment and misdirected himself in law when he held that the MOU was not signed by any of the defendants.
“The document was in fact duly endorsed and signed by Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the 1st defendant in the case before him. The Judge had the MOU and the Constitution of the NNPP in his case file .
“Why he refused to look at that court file and argument canvased before him in open court is baffling, to say the least.
“Glossing over an MOU duly signed in 2022 by the founders and joiners in Umuawulu , within his juridical authority, led the trial Judge to committing grievous error of judgment,” Aniebonam said.
On the Appeal Court ruling sacking the lone NNPP Gov. Abba Yusuf of Kano State, Aniebonam appealed to the Supreme Court “to disregard the avoidable, contra, and condemnable actions of the Kwankwassiyya movement in the matter before it.
“Those actions do not define who we are as the NNPP in the 21 years of birth and involvement in the Nigerian political firmament.
“It is our hope that justice will not only be done but seen to have been done to our candidate, Gov Yusuf.
“It is worth reiterating here, for the umpteenth time, that Yusuf is, and has been, a full member of the NNPP before and after the 2023 gubernatorial election in Nigeria.
“Let substantial justice be done to him (Yusuf),” he added.
NAN recalls that the leadership crisis rocking the NNPP started when a group loyal to Aniebonam, suspended Kwankwaso, who is the leader of Kwankwasiyya social-political group that merged with NNPP in the build up to 2023 general elections.
Similarly, a faction loyal to Kwankwaso also announced expulsion of some national officers loyal to Aniebonam over alleged anti-party activities and the back and forth battle had continued.
