The faction held a parallel meeting of the National Executive Committee in Abuja and reversed the suspension of the candidate of the party in the 2023 presidential election.
As the crisis rocking the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) deepens, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso's faction has expelled the acting National Chairman of the party, Major Agbo and some other notable members.
The faction held a parallel meeting of the National Executive Committee in Abuja and reversed the suspension of the candidate of the party in the 2023 presidential election.
SaharaReporters reported earlier that Kwankwaso's suspension was announced on Tuesday after a voice vote by members of the party at its special general assembly, held at the Rockview Hotels in Apapa, Lagos State.
The BoT also suspended the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, a report by NAN noted.
According to the report, the BoT also appointed new national officers headed by Dr. Agbo Major as acting National Chairman and Mr Ogini Olaposi as acting National Secretary, along with 18 others.
Secretary of the BoT, Babayo Muhammed Abdullahi, while addressing journalists at the end of the meeting 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 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 authorisation from the board,” Abdullahi was quoted as saying.
“This has earned him six months suspension pending the outcome of the investigation by the disciplinary committee.”
However, reacting to Kwankwaso’s suspension, the National Auditor of the party, Ladipo Johnson, described it as illegal and an illegitimate move.
According to The PUNCH,Johnson, who claimed that he was the chairman of the disciplinary committee that subsequently expelled Agbo and his loyalists at the NEC meeting in Abuja, declared that there was no division in the party as being speculated.
“It is a fake news. Do you hold NEC meetings in the Apapa area of Lagos? Of course, it is not the proper thing to do. We held NEC in Abuja today.
“The Agbo you talked about has been expelled along with some other people. He was the one doing all this nonsense and that’s because you know him as national publicity secretary. Who made him acting chairman? Ask yourself, is that how one becomes a chairman?
“I don’t like your use of the word ‘faction.’ Is that how one creates a faction? If you come to NNPP headquarters, you will see us there.
“You will also see that Agbo’s office has been locked for over a week. And he didn’t even go to any court to say what we did was wrong. They are the judges themselves and they are the ones you should be calling a faction. That’s because they were suspended and eventually expelled from the party. Let me send you a statement on the NEC we just held,” he was quoted as saying.
The statement, made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday evening, said that a NEC meeting took place in Abuja where a decision on the purported expulsion of Agbo, a new party logo and constitutional amendments were taken.
It read, “At the National Executive Committee meeting of the NNPP held in Abuja today August 29, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Agbo Major and several others were expelled from the party.
“The NEC also moved several other motions relating to the Logo of the party, the Amendment of the constitution, ratification of the State caretaker committees, and the suspension of two Articles in the constitution of the NNPP 2022.
“At the meeting were the Executive Governor of Kano State, the National Chairman, Distinguished Senator Kawu Ismaila, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Engr Buba Galadima and many others.
“NEC noted that there were suspended (now expelled) persons who purportedly held a Board of Trustees meeting in Apapa, Lagos this morning. Naturally, their meeting was null and void and to no effect.”