Some members of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have disowned a communiqué issued after the party’s 83rd BoT meeting, describing it as unconstitutional, illegal and of no effect.
The aggrieved BoT members made their position known in a letter addressed to former BoT chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, through their legal representatives, C.T. Mue and Associates.
In the letter, the lawyers faulted paragraph eight of the communiqué, which reportedly announced the suspension of some BoT members and referred them to the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, for disciplinary action.
According to the counsel, the PDP constitution limits the powers of the BoT strictly to advisory, moral, custodial, mediatory and harmonising roles, as provided under Article 32(5).
They stressed that the board lacks constitutional authority to discipline, suspend or remove any of its members, arguing that any resolution purporting to do so is ultra vires, null and void.
The lawyers also 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 NEC recommendation or convention decision exists concerning their clients, describing the alleged suspensions as a “constitutional aberration.”
The affected BoT members further questioned Wabara’s authority to issue or present the communiqué, insisting that his tenure as BoT chairman had expired.
They argued that he therefore lacked the legal standing to convene meetings, preside over them or speak on behalf of the board, adding that any meeting held or resolution passed under such circumstances is legally ineffective and amounts to a nullity.
The lawyers 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.
They urged the public to disregard the communiqué, insisting it emanated from an unlawful authority, and 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.
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