The faction of New Nigeria People’s Party under the leadership of Major Agbo on Tuesday suspended the Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, for six months over his failure to appear before its disciplinary committee to defend an alleged Infraction on the party’s constitution.

Yusuf’s suspension was announced by the National Secretary of the faction, Ogini Olaposi, at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

Addressing journalists at the party secretariat, Olaposi said the decision to suspend the Kano State governor was taken by the Board of Trustees in the interest of the party.

The factional secretary said they had yet to come to terms with what the governor, a national figure who was elected on the platform of the NNPP, was doing at an ‘illegal national convention’ of the Kwankwasiya group led by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso in Abuja on April 6.

He said, “We called this media conference to brief you on developments resulting from the recent invitation extended to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano to appear before a disciplinary committee to explain infractions on the party constitution. Nigerians need to know the position of the New Nigeria People’s Party following the failure of the governor to appear before the Disciplinary Committee to explain the reason(s) His Excellency who was elected on the party’s platform and a national figure of NNPP participated in an illegal/ factional national convention of NNPP held by the Kwankwasiya group at Wuse 2 in Abuja on Saturday, 6th April.

“The leadership of the NNPP to strengthen our internal disciplinary and democratic measures most especially in the area of party supremacy without prejudice is left with no other options than to decisively take necessary action according to the letters of NNPP Constitution 2022 as amended.

“With the approval of the Board of Trustees of New Nigeria Peoples Party and the unianimous decision of the National Working Committee of our great Party, His Excellency, Gov. Abba Yusuf of Kano State is hereby suspended for six months with immediate effect.

Reacting via a phone chat, the National Secretary of the Kwankwasiyya faction of NNPP, Dipo Olayoku, described the purported suspension of the governor as a joke taken too far by ‘a bunch of clowns’ who he claimed had long been expelled from the party.

“Suspended Governor Abba Yusuf in what capacity? These people are not members of NNPP. They only want to make news. We don’t know them because they are not members of our party. After all, they have all been suspended and there is a court order banning them from parading themselves as members of the party.

“So, how can non-members of NNPP suspend a governor? They are just clowns having fun because you can only suspend someone if you have a party. They don’t have a party and INEC has a record of members of the party. They are just out there making people laugh,” he stated.