BY GODWIN OBI
There seems to be no end in sight with the crisis rocking the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as a group within the party on Tuesday suspended the NNPP flag bearer for the February 25, 2023 presidential poll, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
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.
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 investigation by a disciplinary committee
The Aniebonam and Major group, which controls NNPP Board of Trustees, also suspended the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
Dr. Boniface Aniebonam
In a communique released at the end of the meeting of the party members in Lagos, Aniebonam resigned as BoT Chairman with Tope Aluko elected as his replacement and Babayo Abdulahi as new BoT Secretary.
The Aniebonam group declared the NWC as “incompetent and due to attrition and failure of the members to follow the constitution and due process in filling of the vacant positions, the NWC can no longer perform its role and is no longer relevant in the eyes of the law”.
The group that met in Lagos “took strong exception to Buba Galadima’ parading of himself as BoT Secretary. This conduct is in violation of the composition of the members of the BOT in accordance with our constitution”
The communique partly read, “The appointment of new national officers headed by Dr. Agbo Major as acting National Chairman and Comrade Ogini Olaposi as acting National Secretary with about 18 others were affirmed by the BoT.
Kwankwaso’s Group Expels Aniebonam, Major
However, in a swift reaction, the Kwankwaso group within the party convened a “NEC meeting” in Abuja also on Tuesday and expelled Aniebonam and Major.
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 Abuja group declared the decision of the Lagos group as “null and void and to no effect”.
The meeting of the Abuja group was attended by the Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf; as well as other party stalwarts such as Kawu Ismaila, Buba Galadima.
Meanwhile, one of the founding fathers of the NNPP, Alhaji Buba Galadima, has waved off Rabiu Kwankwaso’s suspension from the party, describing it as a “Nollywood and Hollywood joke”.
“When I saw it on social media, I thought it was like a Nollywood or Hollywood joke,” Galadima said in reference to Kwankwaso’s suspension on Tuesday night.
He claimed that the leaders of the said group had been expelled from the NNPP.
“Now let me make a small correction, those that were expelled were Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam and Gabriel Agbor Major,” he maintained.
“All of them who were expelled were called to a disciplinary committee. They were drilled and they accepted their sins and it was on the basis of their acceptance that they were recommended to the Nation Working Committee for expulsion.”
Galadima also accused political adversaries of masterminding the internal wranglings within the party but insisted that the NNPP remains strong.
“A lot of people are interested in this party in the sense that the other parties felt that they could only survive if they destroy this party.
“But unknown to them we are as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar,” he said.
Speaking on the accusations of anti-party activities against the former Kano governor, the NNPP chieftain dismissed the claims, saying: “As a politician, we can meet with anybody.
“He took permission from us,” the party chieftain argued. “Whatever the case, Kwankwaso had permission from the party to meet with President Tinubu and talk to any other political group. So, he didn’t do this on his own.”
Political observers have wondered how Kwankwaso suspended the founder of the Party, Dr. Aniebonam, who had over time defended the actions and inactions of the Presidential flag bearer of the NNPP, including his perceived readiness to serve in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government.
Political commentators who expressed sadness over the ugly development described it as a huge betrayal against the founder of the party, questioning the rationale behind Alhaji Kwankwaso’s group turning around to bite the finger that fed them.
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