The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the South West has dismissed the claims that the adoption of its new logo didn’t follow due process.
The party stated this in reaction to the claim made by its members, Alhaji Adebisi Olopoeyan and its publicity secretary, Kilamiwaye Badmus, saying they either acted out of ignorance or a deliberate intent to mislead the public and cause disaffection within the party.
Olopoeyan and Badmus had accused the NNPP national leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, of acting as sole decision maker, stating that he did not consult stakeholders before the new logo was deployed.
But, rising from an emergency meeting of the leadership and stakeholders organised by the South West Zonal chairman, Prince Ademola Ayoade, in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, the party debunked the claim about the new logo, adding that propagators of the allegation, who are being used by enemies to discredit the national leadership of NNPP, have failed.
According to statement by Ayoade after the meeting, the logo change was duly deliberated upon by the National Working Committee (NWC), approved by the National Executive Committee (NEC) and ratified by the National Convention as part of the Constitutional amendment carried out by the party, adding that due democratic process was followed.
“The whole objective of this unfortunate orchestration in their media statement was to discredit the NNPP national leadership but they have failed woefully in their assignment. Of course, reading between the lines, it is obvious that they are being used by our political opponents. It’s a cheap blackmail to cause disaffection within the party.
“The change in logo was exigent as Olopoeyan admitted and the process as part of our constitution amendment went through the NWC, NEC and National Convention for ratification.
So it passed through due democratic process.
“Their actions are therefore false, misleading, malicious and should be disregarded by the public”.
On the legality or otherwise of the recent NNPP convention, the zonal chairman said it also went through normal democratic process, noting that contrary to the “reckless assertion”, there was no court order barring the convention as previous cases instituted against the party’s leadership were thrown out as lacking in merit.
The convention was actually postponed till last Saturday due to obedience of a court summons which was disposed of by the court.
“But Olopoeyan’s claims here are understandable because he’s acting out the script of his paymasters.”
The stakeholders and leaders of the South West assured NNPP members nationwide that the party was rebuilding towards a new era of democratic advancement which will birth a vigorous campaign for the emancipation of the people by meeting their basic needs in education, health, security, food sufficiency and infrastructural development across board.
“We, therefore, charge our members to rededicate themselves to the challenge of national renewal which will entail mass mobilisation and propagation of the idea that government can and should make life more abundant for the people through pro-people policies and programmes”, he said.