By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has ratified the dissolution of the Abba Kawu Ali – led National Working Committee of the party.

The BoT also confirmed and ratified the expulsion of the NNPP’s presidential candidate during the 2023 general elections, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the NNPP’s BoT meeting held at Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos on Friday, September 28, 2023.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq, who signed the communique made copies available to newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The BoT insisted that the constitution of the NNPP 2022 as amended remains the constitution of the party, adding that no constitution amendment would be entertained until after the 2027 general elections.

The communique reads: “The Constitution of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), 2022 (As Amended) remains the constitution of the party and no constitution amendment is approved until after the 2027 general elections. The Head Office of the NNPP is Plot 511, Herbert Macaulay Way, Willands Plaza, Zone 4, Wuse Abuja.

“The dissolved Abba Kawu Ali led National Working Committee of the party which was constituted without due process and the laid down provisions of the party’s constitution is dissolved, and INEC to be notified immediately.

“The expulsion of Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) is confirmed and ratified.

“The alleged expulsions of the Founder and former chairman of the BoT and Dr Gilbert Major Agbo, former publicity secretary, and the purported dissolution of the nine (9) state and local government executive committees without fair hearing by the illegal but now dissolved Abba Kawu Ali – led National Working Committee of the party which was carried out without due process and contrary to the party’s constitution is nullified and set aside.

“The resignation of the Dr Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party during the last Board meeting of 29th August 2023 is accepted and ratified. Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam remains the Founder and life member of the Board of Trustees.

“The elections of Dr. Temitope Aluko as the chairman of the Board of Trustees and Engr. Babayo Mohammed Abdullahi as the secretary to the Board of Trustees on 29th August 2023 were accepted and ratified.

“More so, the elections of Dr. Gilbert Major Agbo as the national chairman, Comrade Olaposi Oginni as the national secretary, Chief Felix Chukwura as the deputy national chairman (South), Alhaji Babayo Liman as the deputy national chairman (North), Mr. Abdulrazaq Abdulsalam as the national publicity secretary and Peter Ogah, Esq. as the national legal adviser of the party, their oaths of office having been administered accordingly, were accepted and ratified. The List of the other members of the Board of Trustees and the National Working Committee will be published subsequently.”

The NNPP’s BoT urged members of the public to disregard the press conference and expression of the Kwankwasiya group led by Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso over the state of affairs of the party and the judgment of the Kano State governorship election petitions tribunal.

The BoT said : “The groups are mere interest groups who used the party’s platform for the 2023 general elections, but their alliance ended with the elections, and as such the groups have no authorization to speak or act for the party, adding that, “the judgment of the Kano State governorship election petitions tribunal which sacked the party’s candidate, Governor Abba Yusuf on Wednesday, 20th of September, 2023 is to be carefully studied with the view of approaching the appellate court for necessary redress.”

The Chairman of the NNPP’s BoT, Dr Temitope Aluko, had last weekend clarified that the party’s management was not fractionalized.

Aluko, in a statement he personally signed, insisted that there were no factions within the NNPP as a party.

He, therefore, appealed to the Nigerian media to desist from promoting issues tending to suggest that the party has been fractionalized.

Aluko added: “Let it be on record that NNPP is one of the nineteen registered political parties in Nigeria which has existed since 2001. Let us equally make it clear that the Kwankwasiya Movement, The National Movement and Nagaff are political pressure groups with specific interest in the polity of Nigeria. They are not political parties in Nigeria and can not operate as such in the eye of the law under the regulation and control of the Independent National Electoral Commission( INEC).
“NNPP’s relationship with the aforementioned pressure groups are not political alliances because they are not political parties. NNPP simply entered into memorandum of understanding with these groups for the purposes of 2023 general election. In particular was the interest of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to contest presidential election under the platform of the NNPP.

“It is in the public domain that the presidential election 2023 have come and gone and a winner duly emerged and sworn into office. It is also on record that Senator Kwankwaso and NNPP are not contesting the outcome of the presidential election in court. We equally know that members of TNM led by Prof Alkali and Prof Angwe resigned their membership of NNPP and left in accordance with the memo of understanding (MoU), thereafter the general election.

“Under the circumstances the board of NNPP in consultation with the General Assembly (National Convention) have resolved and taken a decision to terminate the memorandum of understanding between NNPP on one part and Kwankwasiya and TNM on the other formally with effect from 28th August 2023. Once again we appeal to the media to stop promoting division in our great party of hope for Nigeria,” Aluko had said.

Ends