Alleged Anti-party Activities: NNPP Board of Trustees Suspends Rabiu Kwankwaso, Others

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has suspended its presidential candidate in the February 25 presidential election, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, for alleged anti-party activities.

The BoT also suspended the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

It also appointed new national officers headed by Dr. Agbo Major as acting National Chairman and Mr Ogini Olaposi as acting National Secretary with 18 others.

The suspension, which is for six months, was put to a voice vote by members of the party at its special general assembly held at the Rockview Hotels in Apapa, Lagos-Nigeria.

It would be recalled that the National Working Committee of the party on Thursday, August 24, announced the suspension of the founder of the party, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, and the National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Agbo Major.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, Secretary of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Babayo Muhammed Abdulahi, accused Kwankwaso of hobnobbing with President Bola Tinubu; the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, without the board’s authorization.

Abdullahi announced that Kwankwaso had been stripped of the NNPP national leader status by the board.

The secretary of the BoT said the purported suspension of the NNPP founder was a flagrant gross violation of the party’s constitution.

He pointed out that Aniebonam had resigned as the BoT chairman and a new BoT chairman, Dr. Chief Tope Aluko, was elected with Abdulahi as new BoT Secretary, while High Chief Tony Obioha was elected as the BoT spokesperson.

Abdullahi said the pre-election Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Kwankwasia Movement, The National Movement (TNM) and National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) had been rendered void by the actions of the National Working Committee.

“The purported suspension of the founder is a flagrant gross violation of the NNPP constitution such that it is tantamount to recklessness and irresponsibility on the part of the incompetent National Working Committee.

“The BoT decided that material evidence in the public sector affirmed that Kwankwaso was involved in anti-party activities in various meetings, suggesting political discussions with the President, Atiku and Obi without authorization from the board.

“This has earned him a six-month suspension pending the outcome of investigation by the Disciplinary Committee.

“The BoT insisted that the avoidable violation of the MoU between NNPP on the one part and Kwankwasia, TNM and NAGAFF on the other has no other choice than to withdraw from the partnership.

“It is, therefore, to state clearly that the MoU has been rendered void,” said Abdullahi.

Also speaking, the acting chairman said his team would hit the ground running by healing the wounds created by the suspended National Working Committee members.

Dr. Agbo Major said the party would remain the most ordinary, friendly party in the country and urged other members that are displaced for one reason or the other to return to its fold.

“We don’t intend to shut anybody out or censor anybody, but we want to ensure that we remain on track and maintain our people-oriented ideology,” he said.

The special general assembly was attended by the new National Working Committee and members from across the country.

NAN