PDP: You lack powers to suspend anyone, BoT members tell Wabara

From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi

Some members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have formally rejected a communiqué  after the 83rd meeting of the party’s BoT, describing it as unconstitutional, illegal and of no effect.

In a letter addressed to the former Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the affected BoT members, through their counsel, C.T. Mue & Associates, faulted paragraph eight of the communiqué, which allegedly announced the suspension of certain BoT members and referred them to the National Working Committee (NWC) for disciplinary action.

The lawyers argued that under Article 32(5) of the PDP Constitution, the functions of the BoT are strictly limited to advisory, moral, custodial, mediatory and harmonising roles, with no powers to discipline, suspend or remove any of its members.

The counsel maintained that any resolution purporting to suspend BoT members is ultra vires, null and void.

They further cited Article 32(7) of the PDP Constitution, which states that only the National Convention, acting on the recommendation of the National Executive Committee (NEC), can remove a BoT member on grounds of infirmity or misconduct.

According to them, no such recommendation or convention decision exists in respect of their clients, making the alleged suspensions a “constitutional aberration.”

The affected members also challenged the authority of Senator Wabara to author or present the communiqué, insisting that his tenure as BoT chairman had expired and that he, therefore, lacked the legal standing to convene meetings, preside over them or issue statements on behalf of the board.

They argued that any meeting or resolution taken under such circumstances is nullity and legally ineffective.

The lawyers warned that any publication affecting the rights or status of duly appointed BoT members based on the disputed communiqué is unconstitutional, defamatory and actionable. They urged the public to disregard the document, saying it emanated from an unlawful authority.

The PDP BoT members demanded the immediate withdrawal of the communiqué, a public retraction of the alleged suspensions and a formal acknowledgment that the Board of Trustees has no disciplinary powers over its members, alongside a halt to all actions founded on the disputed communiqué.