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Trouble in NNPP As Party Suspends Kwankwaso, Others for Anti-Party Activities
The Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso faction of the New Nigeria People’s Party has held a parallel meeting of the National Executive Committee in Abuja to reverse his suspension.
The faction announced the expulsion of the new acting National Chairman of the party, Major Agbo and some notable members involved in Kwankwaso’s sanction.
The move is coming hours after Kwankwaso was suspended by the party’s Board of Trustees for alleged anti-party activities.
The decision to sanction Kwankwaso and appoint new national officers headed by Major and acting National Secretary, Ogini Olaposi, and 18 others was taken at a NEC meeting in Lagos earlier on Tuesday.
Prior to the NEC session, Agbo and founder of the party, Dr Boniface Aniebonam had both been suspended from the party on August 24.
But Aniebonam, Agbo and many loyalists of the party kicked against the decision, insisting that if any member deserves to be punished, it ought to be the presidential candidate of the party over his alleged suspicious activities in recent times.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, Secretary of the BoT, Babayo Abdulahi, had accused Kwankwaso of hobnobbing with President Bola Tinubu, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his counterpart in the Labour Party, Peter Obi, without seeking consent of the board.
Abdullahi reiterated that Kwankwaso’s clandestine and nocturnal meetings were the reason he was stripped of the NNPP national leader status by the board.
According to him, 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 BoT spokesperson.
He also insisted that the pre-election Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Kwankwasiyya Movement, The National Movement, and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders had been rendered void by the actions of the NWC.
“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 had political discussions with the President, Atiku, and Obi without authorisation from the board.
“This has earned him six months suspension pending the outcome of an investigation by the Disciplinary Committee,” he stated.
Reacting, the National Auditor of the party, Ladipo Johnson, however, described Kwankwaso’s suspension as an illegitimate move.
Johnson, who claimed he was the chairman of the disciplinary committee that expelled Agbo and his loyalists at the NEC meeting in Abuja, affirmed that there was no division in the party as being speculated.
He said, “It is a fake news. Do you hold NEC meetings in the Apapa area of Lagos? Of course, it is not the proper thing to do. We held NEC in Abuja today. The Agbo you talked about has been expelled along with some other people. He was the one doing all this nonsense and that’s because you know him as national publicity secretary. Who made him acting chairman? Ask yourself, is that how one becomes a chairman?
“I don’t like your use of the word ‘faction.’ Is that how one creates a faction? If you come to NNPP headquarters, you will see us there. You will also see that Agbo’s office has been locked for over a week. And he didn’t even go to any court to say what we did was wrong. They are the judges themselves and they are the ones you should be calling a faction.
That’s because they were suspended and eventually expelled from the party. Let me send you a statement on the NEC we just held.”
The statement, made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday evening, confirmed a NEC meeting truly took place in Abija where a decision on the purported expulsion of Agbo, a new party logo, and constitutional amendment were taken.
It partly read, “At the National Executive Committee meeting of the NNPP held in Abuja today August 29, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Agbo Major and several others were expelled from the party. The NEC also moved several other motions relating to the Logo of the party, the Amendment of the constitution, ratification of the State caretaker committees, and the suspension of two Articles in the constitution of the NNPP 2022.
“At the meeting were the Executive Governor of Kano State, the National Chairman, Distinguished Senator Kawu Ismaila, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Engr Buba Galadima, and many others. NEC noted that there were suspended (now expelled) persons who purportedly held a Board of Trustees meeting in Apapa, Lagos this morning. Naturally, their meeting was null and void and to no effect.”
In a related development, an ally of Kwankwaso and North-Central Chairman of the NNPP, Philip Ohinu also frowned at the reported suspension of the party’s presidential candidate.
Ohinu also maintained that the camp of Kwankwaso has a grip on the party against the notion they are just a faction.
“The national leader of the party Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso remains the national leader of the party. I don’t want to believe that the NNPP is factionalised.
“We just had our NEC meeting today, I attended the meeting and all the 36 state’s chairmen and the FCT were in attendance including our governor, the Reps, the Senate, and the Zonal chairmen. So, I don’t want to believe there is a faction in the party. It is just that they were an unrecognised group of people that came together and acted under the guise that they were members of NNPP. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t think we have a factional NNPP,” he said.
In a phone chat with our correspondent, an indifferent Agbo insisted that the suspension of Kwankwaso and the NWC stands.
When asked if they plan to run the new faction of NNPP and if the party is in crisis, he hesitated before noting that the party is not in any crisis.
“You can describe it the way you want. But that may not be the proper way to describe what is going on. Those who own the party have taken back the party and that was our position in the meeting at Lagos,” he said.
The Punch
An Abuja High Court has cleared the way for the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax regime scheduled to commence on January 1, 2026, dismissing a suit seeking to halt the programme.
The ruling gives the Federal government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Assembly full legal backing to proceed with the take-off of the new tax laws.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of African Initiative for Abuse of Public Trustees, which dragged the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly before the court over alleged discrepancies in the recently enacted tax laws.
In an ex-parte motion, the plaintiff sought an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, FIRS, the National Assembly and related agencies from implementing or enforcing the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The group also asked the court to restrain the President from implementing the laws in any part of the federation pending the hearing of its motion on notice.
However, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Kawu struck out the application, holding that it lacked merit and failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to warrant the grant of the reliefs sought.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate how the implementation of the new tax laws would occasion irreparable harm or violate any provision of the Constitution, stressing that matters of fiscal policy and economic reforms fall squarely within the powers of government.
Justice Kawu further held that once a law has been duly enacted and gazetted, any alleged errors or controversies can only be addressed through legislative amendment or a substantive court order, noting that disagreements over tax laws cannot stop the implementation of an existing law.
Consequently, the court affirmed that there was no legal impediment to the commencement of the new tax regime and directed that implementation should proceed as scheduled from January 1, 2026.
The new tax regime is anchored on four landmark tax reform bills signed into law in 2025 as part of the Federal Government’s broader fiscal and economic reform agenda aimed at boosting revenue, simplifying the tax system and reducing leakages.
The laws — the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025 — consolidate and replace several existing tax statutes, including laws governing companies income tax, personal income tax, value added tax, capital gains tax and stamp duties.
Key elements of the reforms include the harmonisation of multiple taxes into a more streamlined framework, expansion of the tax base, protection for low-income earners and small businesses, and the introduction of modern, technology-driven tax administration systems such as digital filing and electronic compliance monitoring.
The reforms also provide for the restructuring of federal tax administration, including the creation of the Nigeria Revenue Service, to strengthen efficiency, coordination and revenue collection across government levels.
While the Federal government has described the reforms as critical to stabilising public finances and funding infrastructure and social services, the laws have generated intense public debate, with some civil society groups and political actors alleging discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those later gazetted.
These concerns sparked calls for suspension, re-gazetting and legal action, culminating in the suit dismissed by the Abuja High Court.
Reacting to the judgment, stakeholders described the ruling as a major boost for the reforms, saying it has removed all legal obstacles that could have delayed the implementation of the new tax framework.
Former governor of Anambra State, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has officially defected to the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Obi announced the decision on Tuesday at an event held at the Nike Lake Resort, Enugu.
“We are ending this year with the hope that in 2026 we will begin a rescue journey,” Obi said.
The National Chairman of the ADC, David Mark, was among the attendees.
United States Representative Riley Moors has said further military strikes against Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria could follow recent operations ordered by President Donald Trump, describing the actions as aimed at improving security and protecting Christian communities facing violence.
Moore made the remarks during a televised interview in which he addressed U.S. military strikes carried out on Christmas Day against militant targets in North-west Nigeria.
The strikes were conducted in coordination with the Nigerian government, according to U.S. and Nigerian officials.
“President Trump is not trying to bring war to Nigeria, he’s bringing peace and security to Nigeria and to the thousands of Christians who face horrific violence and death,” Moore said.
He said the Christmas Day strikes against Islamic State affiliates had provided hope to Christians in Nigeria, particularly in areas affected by repeated attacks during past festive periods.
According to U.S. authorities, the strikes targeted camps used by Islamic State-linked groups operating in parts of north-west Nigeria.
Nigerian officials confirmed that the operation was carried out with intelligence support from Nigerian security agencies as part of ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between both countries.
The United States Africa Command said the operation was intended to degrade the operational capacity of extremist groups responsible for attacks on civilians and security forces.
Nigerian authorities have described the targeted groups as a threat to national security, noting their involvement in killings, kidnappings and raids on rural communities.
Moore said the strikes marked a shift from previous years in which attacks were carried out against civilians during the Christmas period. He said the U.S. administration was focused on preventing further violence by targeting militant groups before they could launch attacks.
U.S. officials have said the military action was carried out with the consent of the Nigerian government and formed part of broader security cooperation between the two countries. Nigeria has received intelligence, training and logistical support from international partners as it seeks to contain militant activity.
Moore had previously called for stronger international attention to attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria and has urged continued U.S. engagement in addressing extremist violence. He said further action would depend on developments on the ground and continued coordination with Nigerian authorities.
Nigerian officials have maintained that counter-terrorism operations are directed at armed groups threatening civilians, regardless of religion, and have reiterated their commitment to restoring security across affected regions.
