Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, and the NWC have both been suspended by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The six-month ban is a result of allegedly anti-party behavior.

The Board of Trustees (Not) accused Kwankwaso of meeting President Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) unlawfully.

The NWC had earlier suspended the party’s founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, as well as the national publicity secretary, Agbo Major, when the BoT made its ruling.

The NWC’s suspension of Aniebonam and Major, according to the BoT, constituted a “flagrant gross violation” of the party’s constitution.

The Board of Trustees selected new national officers, including interim National Chairman Dr. Agbo Major and acting National Secretary Ogini Olaposi.

The BoT also stated that the NWC’s conduct rendered the pre-election Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Kwankwasia Movement, The National Movement (TNM), and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) null and void.

“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,” Secretary of the BoT Muhammed Abdulahi said at the end of a special meeting at the Rockview Hotels in Apapa, Lagos on Tuesday.

“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.

“The BOT insisted that the avoidable violation of MoU between NNPP on the one part and Kwankwasia, TNM and NAGAFF on the other has no other choice than to withdraw from the partnership.

“It is therefore to state clearly that the MOU have been rendered void.”

Dr Agbo Major, the new acting chairman of the NNPP, stated in a statement that his team would hit the ground running by healing the wounds left by the suspended NWC members.

Major stated that the party would continue to be the most ordinary friendly party in the country and asked other members who had been displaced for various reasons to return to its fold.

“We don’t intend to exclude or censor anyone, but we do want to stay on track and maintain our people-oriented ideology,” he stated.