The New Nigeria Peoples Party’s (NNPP) Board of Trustees has suspended Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for alleged anti-party activity.
Kwankwaso, the candidate of the party in the February 25 Presidential election was suspended along with the National Working Committee (NWC), and some members of the party.
The suspension is for six months is said to run for six months.
The political party also named new national offices, appointing Dr. Agbo Major as acting national chairman and Mr. Ogini Olaposi as acting national secretary.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, Secretary of the BoT, Babayo Muhammed Abdulahi, accused Kwankwaso of frolicking with President Bola Tinubu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, without the board’s approval.
Abdullahi announced that Kwankwaso had been stripped off his leadership status.
The alleged suspension of the NNPP founder, according to the secretary of the BoT, is for flagrant and severe breach of the party’s constitution.
He highlighted that Aniebonam had resigned as the BoT chairman, and a new BoT chairman, Dr. Chief Tope Aluko, was elected with Abdulahi as the new BoT secretary, while High Chief Tony Obioha was elected as the BoT spokesperson.
The NWC’s actions, according to Abdulahi, rendered the pre-election Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked with the Kwankwasia Movement, the National Movement (TNM), and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) null and void.
Abdulahi said: “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.
“The BoT decided that material evidence in the public sector affirmed that Kwankwaso was involved in anti-party activities in various meetings and suggested political discussions with the President, Atiku, and Obi without authorization from the board.
“This has earned him a six-month suspension pending the outcome of the investigation by the Disciplinary Committee.
“The BOT insisted that the avoidable violation of the MoU between NNPP on the one hand and Kwankwasiyya, TNM, and NAGAFF on the other has no other choice than to withdraw from the partnership.
“It is therefore necessary to state clearly that the MoU has been rendered void,” he said.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
