Coalition: Ex-presidential candidates can’t speak for parties – NNPP reacts

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Boniface Aniebonam, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has stated that former presidential candidates cannot represent political parties in the ongoing coalition discussions ahead of the 2027 elections.

Aniebonam made this remark while responding to reports of merger talks and alliance plans being led by key figures from the 2023 presidential race. He expressed skepticism about the process, insisting that such negotiations, if handled solely by past candidates, are unlikely to succeed.

“We do not have individual candidacy in Nigeria. All presidential candidates emerge from a political party and it is the parties that determines who will be their flag bearer.

“The ongoing meetings and negotiations here and there cannot make valid meanings if they fail to carry the leadership of their various political parties along.

“Members and leaders of the party are owners of the party. It is inappropriate to assume that when they enter their coalition, the members will automatically agree with the idea.

“So you can see that all the negotiations here and there will not make any difference for people who are not even sure of getting tickets of their parties.

“In an election, anything can happen wherein a party may opt for another candidate in their primaries. Some may even endorse the incumbent President to continue, making all these coalition claims far fetched,” Aniebonam said.

He asserted that individuals who contested and lost in the 2023 presidential election no longer hold leadership positions within their respective parties. According to him, true leadership lies with those currently in power and those managing the internal structure of the parties.

Aniebonam also expressed surprise that many of the former presidential candidates continue to present themselves as party leaders, despite no longer holding such status following their defeat in the last general election.

“And for the emphasis, it is only President Bola Tinubu, who won the presidential election in 2023 that is the leader of the All Progressives Congress.

“Let it be known to the frontline political parties, in-particular, that their leadership of PDP, Labour and NNPP, etc, respectively have ceased to exist immediately all post election litigations became resolved by the Supreme Court,” he added.

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