Babayo Liman PhD is the immediate past North East Zonal Secretary of the New Nigerian Peoples Party. He speaks on why he left the NNPP to the People’s Democratic Party.
Excerpts:
Please can you introduce yourself proper?
My name is Babayo Liman, a former NNPP Northeast Zonal Secretary from Bauchi state.
You are a pillar in the NNPP, one of the strongest political parties in the country. Why did you leave for People’s Democratic Party?
The New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) does not have a structure. I was nominated based on consensus and ever since I was nominated as the Northeast Zonal Secretary, there was no a single meeting we had with the National Working Committee at the headquarters, I have never been invited or attended any meeting.
Most of the appointees emerged based on consensus are just like a ghost, you cannot see them. In the Northeast, we have four executives working for the NNPP as at then with more than 16 executives who won elections based on consensus. We have the Zonal Chairman from Borno, and I the Zonal Secretary from Bauchi, Public Relations Officer from Gombe and Zonal Women Leader from Bauchi. We were the ones carrying out the activities of the zone but no structure.
Apart from the Structure, are there problems in the party?
We have problems. In the party NNPP, the leadership in Abuja was unable to resolve the differences we have in more than five months. I look at it as a challenge to me to be in the party, that was why I left.
Do you have more supporters that are also leaving the party?
We have more than 650,000 members in Yobe State alone and over 2.7 million in the entire northeast region. It is a tradition when you defect to other political party, you carry your teaming members and supporters along. I have gone round four states in the region, including Bauchi, Borno, Yobe and Gombe, by the time I finished going round the remaining states in the region, I should have gotten three million, seven hundred thousand members that would join me in supporting the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Who are those key National executives that defect alongside with you?
The first person that defected from NNPP was Shehu Barau, the National Treasurer of the party from Bauchi, he defected to another party, the Zonal Women Leader, Hajiya Halima Tafawa Balewa also resigned her appointment and defected to PDP, the Public Relations Officer of the zone, Mr. Ibrahim Tal also joined PDP as well as my humble self, Babayo Liman the Northeast Zonal Secretary that resigned on the 14th January, 2023 and moved to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
What about merger, was it a problem to the NNPP at inception?
Yeah, it was also a problem. We started registration of members as Kwankwasiyya Movement in the last six years thinking Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso will register the political party as Kwankwasiyya but to our greatest surprise, he went ahead to merge with National Movement, the old NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya, forming the new NNPP structure. The challenge here is that; many leaders of the other organizations that worked for the Kwankwasiyya and the old NNPP were abandoned, so that one too was a challenge.
Do you see PDP as a party you can reckon with?
Of course, with the leadership styles exhibited by the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar while serving as the Vice President under Olusegun Obasanjo, I am confident when elected as the President he has the capacity, vast experience that can take the country to the promised land, I therefore call on all my members to support him come February 25, 2023.
What are your final words?
Let’s support PDP to salvage Nigeria, as for us we are determined to deliver at least 2.7 million votes for Atiku Abubakar.
