You Lack Power To Suspend Us – PDP BoT Members To Wabara

Several members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) have rejected a communiqué released after the party’s 83rd BoT meeting, calling it unconstitutional, illegal, and null.

The aggrieved BoT members made their position known in a letter addressed to former BoT chairman, Adolphus Wabara, through their legal representatives, C.T. Mue and Associates.

In the letter, the lawyers challenged paragraph eight of the communiqué, which reportedly announced the suspension of certain BoT members and referred them to the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, for disciplinary action.

According to the counsel, the PDP constitution clearly limits the powers of the BoT to advisory, moral, custodial, mediatory and harmonising functions, as provided under Article 32(5).

They stressed that the board has no constitutional authority to discipline, suspend, or remove any of its members.

They argued that any resolution purporting to suspend BoT members is ultra vires, null and void.

The lawyers further cited Article 32(7) of the PDP constitution, which stipulates that only the party’s national convention, acting on the recommendation of the National Executive Committee, NEC, can remove a BoT member on grounds of misconduct or infirmity.

They noted that no such recommendation or convention decision exists in relation to their clients, describing the alleged suspensions as a “constitutional aberration.”

The affected BoT members also questioned Wabara’s authority to issue or present the communiqué, insisting that his tenure as BoT chairman had expired.

They maintained that he therefore lacked the legal standing to convene meetings, preside over them, or speak on behalf of the board.

The lawyers added that any meeting held or resolution passed under such circumstances is legally ineffective and amounts to a nullity.

They warned that any publication or action affecting the rights or status of duly appointed BoT members based on the disputed communiqué is unconstitutional, defamatory and legally actionable.

The BoT members urged the public to disregard the communiqué, insisting it emanated from an unlawful authority.

They also demanded its immediate withdrawal, a public retraction of the alleged suspensions, and a formal acknowledgment that the BoT has no disciplinary powers over its members.