On Friday, April 4, 2025, the Ajuji Ahmed-led faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) rejected claims made by a faction led by Agbo Major, which suggested that a court had reinstated Major’s National Working Committee (NWC).
The Ahmed-led faction, which is aligned with former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, responded after an Abuja High Court dismissed a suit challenging the legitimacy of Major’s faction. The case had been filed by Ahmed and 20 others, seeking to nullify the results of a convention held in Lagos that led to Major being named the factional chairman, along with other NWC members.
In the ruling, Judge M.A. Hassan stated that the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter, noting that disputes regarding party leadership and membership were internal affairs beyond judicial intervention.
Despite this, the lawyer for Major’s faction, Segun Fiki, claimed that Major and party founder Boniface Aniebonam were recognized as the legitimate leadership of NNPP.
However, in a statement released later that night, Ladipo Johnson, spokesperson for the Ahmed faction, dismissed the claims, emphasizing that the court had not ruled on the merits of the case but had simply declined jurisdiction. Johnson further pointed out that the court made no pronouncement on the legitimacy of Major’s faction or the Board of Trustees (BoT), and that the expulsion of Aniebonam and others from the party remained in effect.
Johnson also clarified that the judgment did not affect the earlier decision by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which affirmed the expulsion of Aniebonam, Major, and other members. He insisted that the Ahmed faction, recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), remained the legitimate leadership of the party.
He urged Major’s faction to stop misleading the public, stating that INEC had no records of Major, Aniebonam, or their associates as members of the NWC and had even denied knowledge of their activities.
