The crisis engulfing the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has worsened as Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s group convened a parallel meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee in Abuja to reverse his suspension.
The faction declared the expulsion of the party’s new acting National Chairman, Major Agbo, as well as certain prominent members implicated in the NNPP flag bearer’s suspension.
The move comes only hours after Kwankwaso was suspended for six months by the party’s Board of Trustees for alleged anti-party activity.
The decision to sanction Kwankwaso and appoint new national officers that included Agbo, acting National Secretary, Ogini Olaposi, and 18 others was taken at a NEC meeting in Lagos earlier on Tuesday.
Prior to the NEC session, Agbo and founder of the party, Dr Boniface Aniebonam had allegedly been on suspension since August 24.
Aniebonam and Agbo however kicked against the decision, insisting that if any member deserved to be punished, it ought to be the presidential candidate of the party over his alleged suspicious activities in recent times.
Reacting, the National Auditor of the party, Ladipo Johnson, described Kwankwaso’s suspension as an illegitimate move.
Johnson, who claimed he was the chairman of the disciplinary committee that subsequently expelled Agbo and his loyalists at the NEC meeting in Abuja, affirmed that there was no division in the party as being speculated.
He said, “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.”
The statement, made available to journalists on Tuesday evening, confirmed that a NEC meeting actually took place in Abuja where a decision on the purported expulsion of Agbo, a new party logo and constitutional amendments were taken.
It partly 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.”
