The Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) was one of the major

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

that contested elections in the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

. The party was made up of three major groups: the

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Progressives, Club 19, and the

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

Council of Understanding. The Lagos progressives included some Lagos based NCNC politicians such as

Adeniran Ogunsanya Adeniran Ogunsanya, QC, SAN (31 January 1918 – 22 November 1996) was a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He was among the chief-founders of the Ibadan Peoples Party (IPP). He served as a Lagos State commissioner for Justice and Education and d ...

, T.O.S. Benson and Kola Balogun. The National Council of understanding was led by Waziri while Club 19 had

Matthew Mbu Matthew Tawo Mbu (20 November 1929 – 6 February 2012) was a Nigerian lawyer, politician, diplomat, and a permanent fixture in Nigerian political affairs for more than fifty years. Early life Mbu was born in Okundi, Cross River State. He rece ...

Solomon Lar Chief (Dr.) Solomon Daushep Lar (April 1933 – 9 October 2013) (Walin Langtang) was a Nigerian politician who has held various offices at the National level for over 50 years. He was a member of the first national parliament when Nigeria gained ...

, Omo Omoruyi, Paul Unongo, Antonio Fernandez and others as members. Though the party was formed to create a national outlook, the exit of

Waziri Ibrahim Alhadji Waziri Kolo Ibrahim (26 February 1926 – 1992) was a Kanuri business man from Borno State, Nigeria, who became a prominent politician and party leader during the Nigerian Second Republic. He was one of the original founders and financie ...

, led to an erosion of politics without borders. Waziri's exit was precipitated because he wanted to be the chairman and also the presidential candidate of the party. The party later came to be seen as an eastern Nigerian party, though it hard scores of support in

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

and Lagos. The party tried to promote

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

and

social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Definition Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or socio ...

as vital ingredients of its mission. In 1979, the party chose former president

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the ...

as its presidential candidate. In states like

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

, leaders such as the governor,

Sam Mbakwe Samuel "Sam" Onunaka Mbakwe (1929 – 5 January 2004) also known as Dee Sam was an Igbo politician and first democratic governor of Imo State, southern Nigeria from 1 October 1979 until 31 December 1983. The Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, ...

were elected with landslide victories (over 80%) in the

Legislative, Gubernatorial and Presidential Elections in Nigeria in 1979. In

, the NPP Campaign Director, Party Secretary and principal architect in electing Sam Mbakwe, was Dr.

Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu Dr Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu (born April 30, 1941) is a Nigerian writer, scholar, philanthropist, and publisher. He was involved in politics in Nigeria in the late 1970s. Background Sebastian Okechukwu Mezu was born on April 30, 1941, in Ezeogb ...

. Before the 1979 elections, the party took some political hits, about 254 of its candidates were disqualified from contesting electoral seats, the second most out of the five major parties. Nevertheless, the party won about 17% of the House of Representative seats and three gubernatorial elections.

Second Republic

During the Second Republic, the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

's (NPN) weak hold on the House of Assembly led to an alliance between the NPP and the NPN. The NPP submitted a few candidates for ministerial appointments to consummate the alliance. NPP personalities such as

Ishaya Audu Ishaya Sha'aibu Audu (1 March 1927 – 29 August 2005) was a Nigerian doctor, professor, and politician. A Kattafawa, Christian, he served as Minister of External Affairs (Foreign Minister) from 1979 to 1983 under Shehu Shagari. Early life, ...

, a vice presidential candidate of the party, were selected as ministers. However, the accord hit the rocks in 1981, and

, the chairman of the party, asked all ministers to resign; many did not heed his call and some transferred to the NPN.

References

*Ergun Ozbudun,

Myron Weiner Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', Agela ...

; ''Competitive Elections in Developing Countries'', Duke University Press, 1987 Defunct political parties in Nigeria