PDP BoT Members Reject Suspension, Describe Wabara’s Communiqué as Illegal

Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) have rejected a communiqué issued after the party’s 83rd BoT meeting, describing it as unconstitutional, illegal, and devoid of any legal effect.

The aggrieved BoT members, through their lawyers, C.T. Mue & Associates, addressed a letter to former BoT Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, challenging paragraph eight of the communiqué, which announced the suspension of certain BoT members and referred them to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) for disciplinary action.

The legal team argued that the PDP constitution restricts the BoT’s powers to advisory, custodial, mediatory, moral, and harmonising functions under Article 32(5). They maintained that the board has no authority to discipline, suspend, or remove members, describing any such resolution as ultra vires, null, and void.

Citing Article 32(7), the lawyers emphasised that only the party’s national convention, acting on recommendations from the National Executive Committee (NEC), can remove a BoT member for misconduct or infirmity. They insisted that no such procedure had been followed regarding their clients, labelling the purported suspensions a “constitutional aberration.”

The BoT members also questioned Wabara’s authority to issue the communiqué, pointing out that his tenure had expired. They argued that he lacked legal standing to convene meetings, preside over them, or act on behalf of the board, adding that any resolution passed under such circumstances is legally ineffective.

Warning that actions based on the disputed communiqué would be unconstitutional and legally actionable, the affected BoT members urged the public to disregard the notice. They demanded its immediate withdrawal, a public retraction, and formal recognition that the BoT has no disciplinary powers over its members.