Abuja: The crisis currently rocking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) took a new dimension as the acting National Chairman, Alhaji Muhammed Abdulrahman-led faction of the National Working Committee (NEC) sacked the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, over alleged loss of moral authority and political neutrality.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the newly-constituted BoT, following its inauguration by the factional NWC. The new BoT members, at the meeting attended by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, and other PDP leaders, also appointed Isah Dansidi to replace Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the BoT Secretary.
Reading the communiqu© of the newly-constituted BoT, Ohuabunwa stated that the action became necessary because both Wabara and Makarfi publicly took sides in the current party crisis. He noted that their actions were contrary to the mediation role expected of the board, hence they could no longer serve in their previous capacities.
Ohuabunwa emphasized that the board unanimously approved the election of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, who, like Senator Wabara, hails from the South, and Dansidi, who, like Makarfi, hails from the North, as chairman and secretary of the newly-constituted BoT respectively. He assured that the BoT would serve as the conscience and stabilizing moral compass of the party and pledged to mediate among stakeholders to foster harmony.
He commended the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, stopping the party’s national convention earlier slated for November 15 and November 16 in Ibadan. The BoT directs all organs and officers of the party to ensure full and immediate compliance with the said judgment, and commended the judiciary for upholding the supremacy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the Electoral Act, the INEC Guidelines, and the PDP Constitution.
Ohuabunwa affirmed the BoT’s support for conducting a credible, transparent, and inclusive national convention, contingent on adherence to all pre-convention processes. He stressed that the BoT emphasizes no party process should act in contempt of court, warning that such actions would render outcomes null and void.
Abdulrahman, speaking at the inauguration of the new BoT, described it as a turning point for the party. He criticized the previous BoT under Wabara for losing the moral balance and questioned its credibility in national advisory matters. Abdulrahman accused the suspended National Chairman, Umar Damagum, of preferring convenience over constitutional adherence, which he claimed weakened the party’s moral standing.
He urged the new BoT to act as the moral voice and conscience of the party, emphasizing their role in speaking truth to power and defending justice. Chief Jim Nwobodo, a former Governor of old Anambra, appealed to the new BoT leadership to heal divisions and reach out to aggrieved members, encouraging them to bring peace to the party.