A faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) under the leadership of Major Agbo has vowed to probe Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso over the alleged misappropriation of N1 billion generated from the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms prior to the 2023 general elections.
In a statement released by NNPP factional National Publicity Secretary, Abdulsalam Abdulrasaq, Kwankwaso, the party’s presidential candidate in the last election would be probed alongside some of his loyalists.
The faction also accused a chieftain of the party, Buba Galadima, of favouring and imposing certain party candidates ahead of other aspirants.
Furthermore, the faction said it would invite relevant security agencies to properly examine the accounts of the party to demand explanations from Kwankwaso and other stakeholders in the last election.
He 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.
READ ALSO: 6 killed, 11 injured in Osun truck accident
“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, in his response to the faction, the National Auditor of NNPP, Ladipo Johnson absolved Kwankwaso of any wrongdoing, saying all the allegations leveled against him were frivolous.
He stressed that the allegations were malicious and that was why it came from disgruntled members that were expelled from the party.
His words, “These are ex-members and renegades who are no longer in the party. I think the sooner Nigerians move to more serious issues relating to the economy and to the Niger crisis, the best for us. Since people like Agbo have formed their own NWC, they should sell nomination forms and teach the world how to manage N1b. I wonder how many candidates NNPP has that we sold N1b worth of forms.
“Why have they not raised this allegation before, during, and immediately after the election? Why are they just saying these things after their expulsion from the party?”