The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has annulled the suspension of Adolphus Wabara, the Chairman of the Party’s Board of Trustees, calling the action unconstitutional and against the party’s rules.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the suspension imposed by the Abia State chapter of the party was in violation of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) and lacked due process.
Ologunagba referred to the suspension as a “reckless and unconstitutional act” after Wabara was suspended in October 2023 for endorsing Governor Alex Otti for a second term, just five months into Otti’s first term.
“The attention of the NWC of the Peoples Democratic Party has been drawn to the purported suspension of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of our great Party, Distinguished Senator Adolphus Wabara,” Ologunagba stated.
The NWC dismissed the suspension as null and void, stressing that it was not consistent with the provisions of the party’s constitution. “No State Working Committee has the power to suspend or take any disciplinary action against a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Party without due recourse to the NWC,” he added, quoting Section 57(7) of the PDP Constitution.
The section, according to Ologunagba, clearly states that only the National Executive Committee has the authority to handle disciplinary matters involving members of the NEC, such as Wabara. As a result, the Abia State chapter had no authority to suspend the Board of Trustees Chairman.
The PDP condemned the suspension as not only unconstitutional but also disruptive to the party’s stability. The NWC warned that those behind the action should retract it or face potential disciplinary measures to maintain the party’s unity and uphold its constitutional integrity.
