NNPP faction to probe Kwankwaso, others over alleged misappropriation of N1bn as party’s crisis festers

A faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) headed by Major Agbo has concluded plans to probe the former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and his loyalists over alleged misappropriation of over N1 billion generated from the sale of nomination forms ahead of the last general election in the country.

The crisis rocking the NNPP took a fresh twist last week after the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) suspended Kwankwaso for three months over alleged anti-party conduct.

At a meeting held last Tuesday in Lagos, the BoT also suspended the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and appointed Major as the acting national chairman of the party.

The BoT expressed concern that the former governor held talks with President Bola Tinubu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, without the party’s approval.

A faction loyal to Kwankwaso later regrouped in Abuja the same day and expelled Major and other individuals who took part in the Lagos meeting.

In a statement issued at the end of a meeting held at the NNPP National Secretariat in Abuja on Sunday, the factional Publicity Secretary, Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq, accused the NNPP chieftain, Buba Galadima, of imposing candidates on the party.

READ ALSO: NNPP suspends Kwankwanso for interacting with Tinubu, Atiku, Obi

He said the faction had withdrawn from its earlier agreement with the Kwankwasiya Movement and the National Movement because the principles of the two groups were not in line with the party’s policies of inclusivity.

Abdulrazaq said: “NNPP will conduct a thorough probe into the mismanagement of well over one billion naira raised from the sale of forms to aspirants from March 2022 to date.

“The meeting resolved to invite relevant security agencies to properly examine the accounts of the party with a view to demanding explanations from the party’s presidential candidate, the party’s chairman who left in March 2023, the sacked acting chairman, and the National Secretary.

“This is to restore the confidence of party members and candidates who came forward with their hard-earned money to purchase forms. The party also queried the rationale for the location of the Situation Room in the presidential candidate’s personal residence.

“It noted that the illegal location created room for massive corruption and manipulation leading to the imposition of candidates by Buba Galadima and his co-travellers and resolved to set up a committee to launch a probe into it.

“It therefore called for written complaints from aggrieved candidates who were shortchanged after making payments for forms into the party’s account.”

However, the NNPP National Auditor, Ladipo Johnson, in a statement in Abuja, dismissed the allegation as a witch-hunt.

Johnson described the allegations as frivolous and absolved Kwankwaso of any wrongdoing.

“Does Kwankwaso sell forms? He is neither an official of the party nor an accounting officer. Why are you taking them seriously? It should be obvious to the whole world what these people are trying to do. They have been expelled,” he stated.

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