THE Board of Trustees (BoT) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has suspended Rabiu Kwankwaso and another member over alleged anti-party activities.
Kwankwaso was the party’s flagbearer in the February 25 Presidential election.
The BoT states that the suspension would be in place for six months.
In addition, the BOT also suspended the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
The BoT announced the suspension at a media briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, August 29.
The suspension of the party’s founder, Boniface Aniebonam, and the national publicity secretary, Agbo Major, was previously declared by the NWC of the party on Thursday, August 24.
The BoT also named new national officers, including 18 others and Major as acting National Chairman and National Secretary.
The suspensions were submitted to a voice vote by party members at the party’s extraordinary general meeting, which took place at the Rockview Hotels in Apapa, Lagos.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting in Lagos, the secretary of the BoT, Babayo Abdulahi, accused Kwankwaso of socialising with President Bola Tinubu, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) without the board’s approval.
According to Abdullahi, Kwankwaso’s role as the national leader of the NNPP had been revoked.
The secretary of the BoT maintained that the purported suspension of the NNPP founder was a flagrant gross violation of the party’s constitution.
“The purported suspension of the founder is a flagrant gross violation of the NNPP constitution such that it is tantamount to recklessness and irresponsibility on the part of the incompetent NWC.
“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.
“This has earned him six months suspension pending the outcome of investigation by the Disciplinary Committee,” Abdullahi said.
He added that the violation of the MoU between NNPP, Kwankwasiya and some other groups gave the party no choice but to withdraw from the partnership.
“It is, therefore, to state clearly that the MOU has been rendered void,” he said.
A reporter with the ICIR
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