The crisis rocking the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) took a new turn on Tuesday as the two factions held parallel meetings and announced the expulsion of the BoT chairman and suspension of its national leader.
Daily Trust reports that the National Executive Committee (NEC) met in Abuja and ratified the expulsion of the chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Dr Boniface Aniebonam, and the National Publicity Secretary, Dr Agbo Major, with 14 others. The BoT of the party led by Dr Aniebonam met in Lagos and suspended the presidential candidate in the February 25 general election, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Kwankwaso was conspicuously absent during the NEC meeting held at Bolingo Hotel, Abuja, which had the governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, and the speaker of the state assembly, Alhaji Jibrin Falgore, in attendance.
The NNPP has been rocked by a crisis recently as its National Working Committee (NWC) dissolved seven state executive committees as well as the founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, and the National Publicity Secretary, Dr Agbo Major.
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The NEC alleged the BoT members and others affected were expelled for forming parallel boards, National Working Committee (NWC) and State Working Committees (SEC).
The acting national chairman of the party, Alhaji Abba Kawu, said a seven-member disciplinary committee was earlier set up by the NWC whose report led to the suspension of the state executive committees.
While explaining that the NEC was aimed at restructuring the party, Ali urged those who have won elections on the platform of the party to be good ambassadors and emulate Kwankwaso.
He also said the meeting intended to change the logo of the party, adding that there was a need to deliberate on the issue so that collectively an acceptable logo can be unveiled.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the BoT, Babayo Muhammed Abdulahi, who spoke after a ‘special general assembly’ in Lagos said Kwankwaso has been suspended for six months over anti-party activities.
The suspension was put to a voice vote by members during the meeting in Lagos even as the BoT appointed new national officers headed by Dr Agbo Major as acting national chairman and Comrade Ogini Olaposi as acting national secretary alongside 18 others.
Lagos meeting null and void
Reacting to the alleged suspension of the national leader, his spokesman, Ladipo Johnson, said the meeting in Lagos was null and void with no effect.
“At the National Executive Committee meeting of the NNPP held in Abuja today; August 29th, 2023, 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 was 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,” Ladipo said.
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