The acting National Chairman of a faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Major Agbo has accused the presidential candidate of the party, Rabiu Kwankwaso of planning to eject people who gave platform out of the party.
Agbo made this in an interview with Punch amidst the crisis rocking the party.
Naija News recalls that a faction of the NNPP suspended the former Governor of Kano state over alleged anti-party.
Kwankwaso’s faction in their reaction to the report suspended the founder of the party, Boniface Aniebonam and several others.
Speaking on the crisis in NNPP, Agbo said, “The truth is that we had an MoU signed between the NNPP, the Kwankwasiyya group and the National Movement in February or March last year. It was on the strength of that MoU that they came in. This memorandum was drawn principally on the need for mutual respect. But as soon as the MoU was signed, we created room for them to be able to inject people into the various levels of the party leadership and the National Working Committee. All the organs of the party were dissolved, except the Board of Trustees. The whole of March 2022 was used to reconstitute them before we went into how to present candidates for the 2023 general elections.
“From the outset, it was obvious they were not prepared to stick to the tenets of the MoU. They continued to abuse it. Deceits came in right from the beginning even when the various organs were being reconstituted.
“We started seeing a lot of deceitful acts, cheating here and there and the Kwankwasiyya trying to muscle in on the NNPP people they met on the ground. The people they were trying to frustrate had been in the NNPP for 22 years before their arrival.
“But then we were cautious of the fact that election was around the corner and we didn’t want to cause any serious upheaval. So, we said okay, let’s address the problem after the election. And the two leaders, the founder and Senator Kwankwaso, agreed that immediately after the election they would need to see how to reorganise the party. That was the mutual agreement they had.
“During the elections, the evidence abounds in the media about how Kwankwaso jumped from one candidate and party to the other, while the party’s BOT and NWC were not carried along. Of course, some of them will come and tell you otherwise, as Buba Galadima said on television that he (Kwankwaso) could get permission from the caucus.
“What is caucus when the NWC should have been fully consulted? I was also not consulted as the spokesperson for the party. We simply managed throughout that period until after the election.”
The acting National Chairman claimed that the crisis in the party escalated after the 2023 general elections.
Agbo further stated, “The moment the election ended, they started taking on those of us who are founding members of the party, including the founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam. Meanwhile, Section 12 of the NNPP Constitution on the strength of which they were talking to you defines who the founder of the party is.
“The constitution does not say ‘founders.’ No, it was stated there clearly that ‘the founder is a life member of the party’. That portion was referring to Dr Aniebonam. The same constitution also states that he has the right to call to order any officer of the party acting in a way that is not in consonance with the position of the constitution.
“This same constitution in Section 39 says that people should be reprimanded when they go against the constitution. The truth is that none of us, including the founder of the party, is against meting out punishment to anybody who has done anything that is not in the interest of the party.”
Speaking on why Kwankwaso’s faction is against them, Agbo said, “Our sin was that we insisted on them following the due process in everything they wanted to do. They mentioned some states and said they wanted to invite them. I was a member of the disciplinary committee. When I saw that what they were doing was wrong, I had to pull out. I won’t be part of anything dirty. The procedure was wrong in the first place and they were doing things covertly. It became obvious they had sinister motives, so I was never interested in the team again. Eventually, they dismissed seven state chairmen and went ahead to dissolve the state, local government and ward levels.
“What did they do; Were they invited; where was the fair hearing as contained in our constitution? Even the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says you cannot do this until you have given the person the opportunity to be heard. Why won’t you hear from them before going ahead to dismiss them? These are issues on the ground. They cried out and said it was injustice. Then they took their plight to the founder of the party in Lagos.
“The sin of the founder is that he listened to them. It tells you that these people have their minds made up on what to do to the man who gave them a platform free of charge. No kobo was attached to the deal.
“In fact, they came all the way to this man’s village in Umuawulu (Anambra State) to meet us. They were on their knees, led by this same Buba Galadima. These people who also have their assent on that MoU have all left when they discovered the way things were going was not in consonance with the founding vision. They left the party in frustration and anger. That is where we are till today.
“It is unfortunate that this man (Kwankwaso) was seated there folding his arms while the NWC was molesting the founder of the party. This is the same man he (Kwankwaso) promised heaven and earth, that he would ensure he respects him for being so magnanimous.
“I said I cannot be part of this rubbish, so I aired my voice. The next thing I heard was that I had taken a side with the founder and therefore deserved to be met with the same punishment as the founder. Can you imagine? These are just a bunch of gangsters that are now in NNPP trying to destabilise it.”
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