NNPP suspends Chairman over refusal to apologise to Kwankwaso, Galadima

Shehu's suspension was contained in a letter signed and read to journalists by the North-East Zonal Secretary of the NNPP, Babayo Liman, at a press conference held at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Bauchi State Council, on Wednesday.

Dated July 13th, 2022 and addressed to him, the letter cited “gross indiscipline and disrespect to the leadership of the party”, as reasons for the acting chairman's suspension, The Punch reports.

The party warned Shehu to desist from parading himself as the acting chairman pending the outcome of investigations of the allegations against him.

The letter read, “Your actions for not collecting the query issued to you on July 6th, 2022, have been categorized as gross indiscipline and disrespect to the leadership of the party.

“You are, by this letter, suspended from parading yourself as the acting Chairman of the party in Bauchi State pending the outcome of the National Executive Council decision in respect of the allegations leveled against you.”

The letter also stated that the decision would be communicated to relevant authorities for their information and further necessary action, “as a caretaker Chairman will soon be announced to carry on the activities of the NNPP Office in Bauchi State.”

Liman also recited to journalists, the content of the query served on the suspended acting Chairman which he claimed Shehu turned away from.

He recounted how, sometime in June 2022, the Zonal National Chairman and Zonal National Secretary North East, Shehu publicly challenged and insulted the National Board of Trustee Secretary General, Engr. Buba. Galadima, in Abuja without any reason.

He recalled another event that happened during the Bauchi State NNPP stakeholders meeting with the National Executive, in Abuja, where Shehu repeatedly insulted Galadima which resulted in his argument with the National Leader and presidential candidate of our great party Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

“You did not apologize for your actions, even when you were advised to resign based on your attitudes until the National Chairman of the party apologized on your behalf.

“That you also repeated the challenge and insulted this time around to the Coordinator of the screening committee in the person of Dr. Yusuf Kofan Mata during another meeting with the National Leader Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso which also resulted in another argument between you and the National leader.

“That unconfirmed report revealed to the Zonal Headquarters that you constituted a committee in collaboration with some candidates to visit all the 20 LGA of Bauchi State with the aims of changing some candidate and LGA Executives in the state without permission.

“That another information also revealed to the Zonal Headquarters that you are collecting money from stakeholders and NNPP candidates in the state for renting an office as well as for organizing a meeting in the State. And from the information received by this Office, since you assumed office you didn’t conduct any meeting except once when the National leader questioned you for not conducting executives meeting in the state and the venue of the meeting and NNPP State office was a donation by the Zonal National Secretary Dr. Babayo Liman, in Bauchi State.

“That unconfirmed report also revealed to the Zonal Headquarters that you are making arrangements with some opposition parties in the State to carry on anti-party which is against the NNPP,”

The letter instructed Shehu to “write a letter of apology to the National Leader Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Engr. Buba Galadima, the National Chairman and all National Executives through the National Zonal Headquarters North-East within 48 hours of the receipt of this query in the alternative why not disciplinary actions shouldn’t be taken against you.”

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has disclosed that the NNPP and African Action Congress (AAC) are the only parties yet to submit any nomination for 2023 state elections, with just three days to the deadline for the submission of nomination.

The commission in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in Abuja on Wednesday, disclosed that 16 out of 18 registered political parties had so far submitted 6,995 nomination forms (EC9) for the elections.