The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) says the suspension of the 2023 presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso is “null and void”, expelling several party chieftains, including Dr Boniface Aniebonam and Agbo Major who spearheaded the suspension.
“At the National Executive Committee (NEC) 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 party said in a statement on Wednesday.
“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 suspension of two Articles in the constitution of the NNPP 2022.”
The meeting was said to have been attended by Kaduna State Governor Abba Yusuf; the acting National Chairman, Abah-Kawu Ali; and the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Buba Galadima, among others.
“NEC noted that these suspended persons (now expelled) purportedly held a Board of Trustees meeting in Apapa, Lagos, this morning. Naturally, their meeting was null and void and had no effect,” it added.
Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor who came fourth in this year’s presidential election, was suspended by the group led by NNPP chieftains, Boniface Aniebonam and Agbo Major, on Tuesday.
The group led by Aniebonam and Major suspended Kwankwaso at a special general assembly held at the Rockview Hotels in the Apapa area of Lagos State.
The group said “material evidence” in public affirmed that Kwankwaso was involved in “anti-party activities in various meetings” and political discussions with President Bola Tinubu, then candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC); his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar; and Labour Party (LP)’s Peter Obi.
The group said Kwankwaso’s political hobnobbing earned him six months’ suspension pending the outcome of an investigation by a disciplinary committee.