The Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has suspended Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the party’s candidate for president in the election on Feb. 25, for alleged anti-party activities.
The BoT also put the party’s National Working Committee on hold.
It also chose new national leaders, including Dr. Agbo Major as acting national chairman, Mr. Ogini Olaposi as acting national secretary, and 18 others.
The ban will last for six months, says the News Agency of Nigeria.
NAN says that members of the party who were at its special general meeting at the Rockview Hotels in Apapa voted by voice for the suspensions.
NAN remembers that the party’s NWC announced on Thursday, August 24, that the party’s founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, and the National Publicity Secretary, Major, had been suspended.
Babayo Muhammed Abdullahi, the Secretary of the BoT, told reporters at the end of the meeting in Lagos on Tuesday that Kwankwaso had met with President Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, without the board’s permission.
Abdullahi said that the NNPP board had taken Kwankwaso’s title as national head away.
The secretary of the BoT said that the NNPP founder’s supposed suspension was a clear and serious breach of the party’s rules.
He said that Aniebonam had quit as BoT chairman and that Dr. Chief Tope Aluko had been chosen as the new chairman. Abdulahi was chosen as the new BoT secretary, and High Chief Tony Obioha was chosen as the BoT spokesman.
Abdullahi said that the NWC’s moves had nullified the pre-election Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Kwankwasia Movement, the National Movement, and the National Association of Government-Approved Freight Forwarders.
Abdullahi said, “The supposed suspension of the founder is a flagrant and gross violation of the NNPP constitution. It is the same as the incompetent NWC acting recklessly and irresponsibly.”
“The BoT found that there was public proof that Kwankwaso was involved in anti-party activities at different meetings, such as having political talks with the President, Atiku, and Obi without permission from the board.
“Because of this, he has been suspended for six months while the Disciplinary Committee looks into what happened.
“The BOT argued that the violation of the MoU between NNPP and Kwankwasia, TNM, and NAGAFF was avoidable and that NNPP had no choice but to leave the partnership.
“Therefore, it is important to say that the MOU is no longer valid.”
The temporary chairman also spoke, promising that his team would get to work right away to fix the harm the suspended NWC members had caused.
Major said that the party would continue to be the most normal and friendly one in the country, and he asked other members who had left for one reason or another to come back.
He said, “We don’t want to shut anyone out or censor anyone, but we do want to make sure we stay on track and keep our people-centered philosophy.”
NAN says that the new NWC and members from all over the country were at the special general assembly meeting.
NAN
TAG: Kwankwaso
POPULAR THIS MONTH:
MOST READ:
BIG STORY: INEC Disabling FCT Results
