Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, has been given a 48-hour ultimatum by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) leadership to take back his previous remarks regarding the party’s internal problems or risk legal action.
Speaking at the Social Democratic Party (SDP) headquarters, El-Rufai claimed that the NNPP’s current problem was caused by the ruling government.
But in a quick response, Oginni Olaposi, the party’s polarizing national chairman, rejected the claim as untrue and irrational.
“El-Rufai lacks knowledge of the workings of the NNPP and the challenges we are facing,” Olaposi said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“We demand that he tenders an unreserved apology within 48 hours or face legal consequences for his defamatory remarks.”
Olaposi also urged El-Rufai to ask Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former NNPP presidential candidate, for clarification on the party’s internal problems.
In order to refute El-Rufai’s allegation of federal government meddling, he asked a number of questions.
“We shall ask Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to ask his friend, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to answer the following questions before making unverified allegations against the government,” Olaposi stated.
“Was it the federal government that asked Kwankwaso to go to Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam in February 2022 to beg for the NNPP platform? Was it the federal government that instructed him to insult the party’s founder?”
The NNPP chairman also accused Kwankwaso of sidelining the party’s leadership and attempting to take control, leading to internal conflicts.
“Was it the federal government that asked Kwankwaso to challenge his expulsion from NNPP in court? Was it the federal government that stopped him and Governor Abba Yusuf from appearing before the party’s disciplinary committee?” Olaposi queried.
He underlined that El-Rufai’s words were not only misleading but also harmful to the NNPP’s reputation.
“We will not hesitate to take legal action if he fails to retract his statement and apologize to the party within the given timeframe,” he warned.
