The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has described the purported suspension of Senator Kawu Sumaila (NNPP-Kano) and three other federal lawmakers as null and void.
The Kano State chapter of the NNPP on Monday announced the suspension of Mr. Sumaila, the senator representing Kano South District, along with three other members of the House of Representatives.
Mr. Sumaila was suspended alongside three federal lawmakers: Ali Gini, Sani Rogo, and Kabiru Rurum.
The state chairman of the party, Hashimu Dungurawa, announced the suspension at a news conference, stating that they were suspended for alleged anti-party activities.
Reacting on Tuesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Dr. Oginni Olaposi, stated that the purported suspension was aimed at disparaging the bona fide NNPP.
Mr. Olaposi said that the National Working Committee of the party was not informed of any alleged anti-party activities by the lawmakers.
According to him, those who purportedly suspended the lawmakers are part of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, whose 2023 presidential election Memorandum of Understanding with the NNPP has ended.
He said, “We do not want Nigerians to be misled by a group that does not believe in the rule of law and public order.”
According to him, in the interest of public order and societal peace, the NNPP wishes to clarify that the Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso-led Kwankwasiyya Movement lacks the legal standing to act or speak on behalf of the party.
He stated, “The Memorandum of Understanding between the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement was terminated after the 2023 general elections. It is on record that the MoU between the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement was signed with the assent of Kwankwaso and Elder Buba Galadima as representatives of their groups—the Kwankwasiyya Movement and The National Movement. Kwankwaso, who became the presidential candidate of the party in 2023, and Galadima represented their respective groups, hence their signatures on the 2022 MoU with the NNPP.
“It is also a fact that the Abia State High Court, on November 1, 2024, terminated the MoU and directed INEC to hand over the administration and leadership of the NNPP to Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the party’s Board of Trustees Chairman and Founder.
“The NNPP, therefore, appeals to the general public, especially members and residents of Kano State, to disregard any statements made by these groups masquerading as NNPP members.
“Their pronouncements are false and misleading. We hereby dissociate the NNPP from reckless and unguided statements capable of causing public unrest in Kano State.”
NAN
