THE Board of Trustees (BoT) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has suspended its candidate in the February 25 presidential election, Senator 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 alongside 18 others.
News Point Nigeria gathered that the suspension is for a period of six months.
This newspaper reports that the suspensions were put to a voice vote by members of the party at its special general assembly, held at the Rockview Hotels in Apapa, Lagos.
The NWC of the party on Thursday, Aug. 24, announced the suspension of the founder of the party, Dr Boniface Aniebonam and the National Publicity Secretary, Major.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, Secretary of the BoT, Babayo Muhammed Abdulahi, accused Kwankwaso of hobnobbing with President Bola Tinubu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Mr. Peter Obi, without the board’s authorisation.
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 BoT spokesperson.
Abdulahi said: “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 NWC.
“The BoT decided that material evidence in the public sector affirmed that Kwankwaso was involved in anti-party activities in various meetings, suggest political discussions with the President, Atiku and Obi without authorisation from the board.
”This has earned him six months suspension pending the outcome of investigation by the Disciplinary Committee.
“The BoT insisted that the avoidable violation of 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 have been rendered void.”
Also speaking, the acting chairman said his team would hit the ground running by healing the wounds created by the suspended NWC members.
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.
This newspaper reports that the special general assembly meeting was attended by the new NWC and members from across the country.
In a related development, a parallel exco of the party had a different National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja, Tuesday afternoon to ratify the expulsion of the Chairman of Board of Trustees, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, and the National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Agbo Major, and 14 others.
The National leader of the NNPP, Senator Kwankwaso also was conspicuously absent at the Abuja meeting.
The meeting which had the Governor of Kano State, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, and the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Alhaji Jibrin Falgore, in attendance, held at Bolingo Hotel, Abuja.
At the Abuja meeting, the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Abba Kawu Ali, said the NEC was aimed at restructuring the party.
He said a seven-member disciplinary committee was set up by the NWC which report led to the suspension of the state executive committees.
He urged those who have won election on the platform of the party to be good ambassadors as well as emulate Kwankwaso.