Kwankwaso Still Expelled, No Plan To Approach Supreme Court Judges – NNPP Declares

In a statement issued over the weekend and signed by the party’s National Secretary, Oginni Olaposi Sunday, the NNPP clarified that Kwankwaso was not a member of the party at the time the alleged incident took place.

The party consequently called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to immediately expunge the NNPP’s name from any petitions submitted to the Inspector-General of Police or other investigative bodies in relation to the matter.

Describing reports connecting the party to the controversy as false and misleading, the NNPP said it was necessary to set the record straight.

“Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was not a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in 2019 when he was alleged to have taken Governor Abba Yusuf to meet some Supreme Court judges,” Oginni stated.

The party explained that Kwankwaso only joined the NNPP a few months before the 2023 general elections, alongside other prominent figures including Buba Galadima, Prof. Alkali, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, Prof. Hanga, and Governor Abba Yusuf.

It also dismissed claims that Kwankwaso was a founding member of the NNPP, accusing the former Kano State governor of attempting to hijack the party and run it as a personal enterprise.

“Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was never among the founders of the NNPP. The party was founded by Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam,” the statement said, adding that it was regrettable that Kwankwaso allegedly tried to appropriate the founder’s intellectual property for personal use.

The NNPP further recalled that a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja had dismissed a suit challenging the convention that produced Dr. Agbo Gilbert Major as National Chairman and Comrade Oginni Olaposi Sunday as National Secretary.

Reaffirming its position, the party said Kwankwaso had since been expelled from its ranks and noted that related issues were still being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“We restate the resolution of the National Working Committee that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is no longer a member of the NNPP, having been expelled shortly after the 2023 elections for gross misconduct,” Oginni said.

The NNPP also stressed that Kwankwaso should no longer be referred to as the party’s National Leader, maintaining that its legitimate leadership remains Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam as Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Agbo Gilbert Major as National Chairman, and Comrade Oginni Olaposi Sunday as National Secretary.