Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a contender for president in the Feb. 25 election, has been placed on administrative leave by the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) due to alleged anti-party conduct.
The National Working Committee, or NWC, members of the party were also suspended by the BoT.
Additionally, it selected new national officers, including Mr. Ogini Olaposi as Acting National Secretary and Dr. Agbo Major as Interim National Chairman.
The ban is in effect for six months.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, the secretary of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Babayo Muhammed Abdulahi, accused Kwankwaso of socialising with President Bola Tinubu, PDP presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi without the board’s permission.
Kwankwaso’s role as the national leader of the NNPP had been revoked, according to Abdullahi.
The NNPP founder’s alleged suspension, according to the secretary of the Board of Trustees, was a flagrant severe breach of the party’s constitution.
He noted that Aniebonam had resigned as the BoT chairman and that Dr. Chief Tope Aluko had been chosen as the new BoT chairman, Abdulahi had been chosen as the new BoT secretary, and High Chief Tony Obioha had been chosen as the new BoT spokesperson.
Bdulahi claimed that the NWC’s actions had nullified the pre-election Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that had been signed with the Kwankwasia Movement, The National Movement (TNM), and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF).
The alleged suspension of the founder, according to Abdulahi, “is a flagrant severe violation of the NNPP constitution such that it is equivalent to recklessness and irresponsibility on the side of the inept NWC.
“The BoT determined that substantial public evidence established that Kwankwaso had engaged in anti-party actions in a number of meetings and suggested that he had political conversations with the President, Atiku, and Obi without board approval.
He is now suspended for six months while the Disciplinary Committee’s inquiry is completed.
“The BOT contended that Kwankwasia, TNM, and NAGAFF had no choice but to leave the partnership as a result of the NNPP’s avoidable violation of the MoU.
It is necessary to clarify unequivocally that the MoU has been nullified, he continued.
