BoT Confident PDP Convention Can Hold, Cites Legal Clearance

BoT Confident PDP Convention Can Hold, Cites Legal Clearance


ABUJA – Against the move to stall the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) has said that the convention is absolutely practical to hold.

The BoT added that the party is relying on the Su­preme Court judgment, which emphasized the man­agement of party’s internal affairs.

Asked if the party conven­tion will still hold as sched­uled, while fielding questions from newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, the BoT Chairman, Sen. Adolphus Wabara said, “It is absolutely practical, or practicable if you want to use that word for us to go to the convention. All the organs of the party, before these individ­ual opinions had agreed that we would go to the conven­tion. You know the Governors’ Forum, the NWC, the Board of Trustees, in our last meet­ing, our communique, made mention of us going for the convention.

 “But if, for any reason, the Court of Law decides other­wise, because we are rely­ing on the judgment of the Supreme Court, you know, which should have guided the lower courts as of now to take a decision. I mean, in a civilized world, these things are interwoven and intercon­nected.

“You don’t make all kinds of issues, all kinds of orders, when the Supreme Court has deliberated on that. So you are more or less challenging the Supreme Court of the land, but in Nigeria anything goes. But as far as the organs of the party, are concerned, the con­vention will hold.”

He, however, added that the party would abide by any lawful court order, stressing that “if we are stopped by the courts, we are a law-abiding party. We will obey the law, or obey the last order, as the case may be.”

Addressing concerns that the BoT’s intervention came too late, Wabara dismissed such claims, describing the PDP’s current challenges as “self-inflicted problems” driv­en largely by personal and elective interests.

“There is actually no crisis. All these problems we have in the PDP are self-inflicted. In politics, it’s a function of in­terest. Some people want the party dead now and to resur­rect it in 2031 for their own use,” he said.

The BoT Chairman main­tained that the board was committed to preserving the unity and survival of the par­ty, adding, “I’m not thinking of contesting for anything, and our decisions will always be in the interest of the party. The PDP is a party for Nigeri­ans—for the masses—wheth­er we like it or not.”

Earlier, the BoT received the report of its reconcilia­tion committee headed by Ambassador Hassan Adamu, tasked with finding lasting solutions to the lingering internal crisis and ensur­ing a smooth conduct of the party’s forthcoming national convention.

Speaking at the presenta­tion of the report in Abuja, BoT Chairman and former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, reaffirmed that the party was determined to go ahead with its national convention as agreed by all organs of the PDP.

Also speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Reconcili­ation Committee, Ambassa­dor Hassan Adamu, said the committee was inaugurated on November 5 and immedi­ately commenced consulta­tions with key stakeholders to ensure a hitch-free con­vention.

“We have spoken to vari­ous segments of our party— the leaders, the Governors’ Forum, and others—and we have now come up with our recommendations for a hitch-free convention. It has been a very difficult assignment, but we have done our very best to present our findings,” Adamu said.

Presenting the commit­tee’s report, Secretary of the Committee and former Chief of Staff to President Good­luck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, said the panel held extensive engagements with major stakeholders, in­cluding the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, members of the Governors’ Forum, the National Working Committee (NWC), and sus­pended national officers.

“We met with the Minister of the FCT, the Governors’ Fo­rum, and the NWC led by the Deputy National Chairman in the absence of Ambassa­dor Damagum. We also met with the suspended National Secretary, Sam Anyanwu, the Organizing Secretary, and the National Legal Adviser,” Oghiadomhe stated.

He added that the commit­tee also consulted former Sen­ate President Bukola Saraki and other party leaders before compiling its observations and recommendations.

“We believe that we have tried to connect all the issues plaguing our party today. Our recommendation provides a road map for sustainable and progressive party administra­tion at this point in time,” he concluded.

The reconciliation com­mittee submitted six copies of its report, including annex­ures containing documents obtained during its consul­tations.

With the submission of the report, the BoT is expected to deliberate on the findings and recommendations in prepara­tion for the PDP’s much-antic­ipated national convention.

Meanwhile, factional Chairman of the BoT of the PDP, Senator Mao Ohu­abunwa, has reaffirmed that there will be no national con­vention of the party for now, saying the decision aligns strictly with a recent court judgment.

Speaking after a crucial stakeholders’ meeting in Abu­ja on Thursday, Ohuabunwa said the faction was deter­mined to end impunity and restore constitutional order within the PDP.

“As a law-abiding political party, we have decided to ful­ly obey the law and the judg­ment of the court,” Ohuabun­wa stated. “One of the key takeaways of that judgment is that there will be no conven­tion, and we have accordingly advised our members not to participate in any such gath­ering.”

The former senator, a founding member of the party, noted that while mem­bers reserve the right to free­ly assemble, any meeting convened in the name of a national convention is not recognized by the legitimate leadership.

“People have the right to gather at every level — it’s a fundamental right,” he said. “But as far as the national con­vention is concerned, there is none. The party has clearly announced and advertised that the convention has been postponed.”

He added that the Acting National Chairman of the faction, Alhaji Abdulrah­man Mohammed, had already urged members to remain steadfast and await a new date that would be announced after consultations with rele­vant organs of the party.

“The National Chairman has called on members to stay committed. After due consul­tations with the National Working Committee, the BoT, and the caucus, a proper and inclusive convention will be announced,” Ohuabunwa said.

According to him, the de­cision to suspend the planned convention was taken in the interest of discipline and reform, to ensure that the PDP reclaims its reputation as a truly democratic and law-abiding institution.

“We must obey the rule of law, respect our constitution, and put an end to acts of im­punity going forward,” he declared.

The faction’s position fol­lows growing internal tension over the party’s leadership and the legality of its planned convention earlier scheduled to hold in Ibadan.

In his remarks, the faction­al Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Moham­med, reaffirmed the group’s stance, describing the pro­posed Ibadan convention as “illegal and in direct violation of court orders.”

“We are law-abiding citi­zens and will align fully with the judgments of the Feder­al High Court,” Mohammed said. “We call on all our dele­gates across the federation to stay away from the purported convention in Ibadan. We are not part of it.”

Mohammed added that, with the support of Senator Ohuabunwa and the BoT, the faction would embark on a na­tionwide reconciliation drive to reposition the PDP and re­turn it to its “rightful owners the people.”

“With the backing of our BoT Chairman, we will reach out to leaders across the 36 states to rebuild this party on integrity and inclusiveness,” he assured.

He emphasized that true leadership in the PDP would henceforth be measured not by past titles but by genuine connection with the grass­roots.

“Leadership is not about former positions,” he said. “It’s about your ability to connect with the people and build a party everyone can be proud of.”

Also speaking, Leader of the PDP Caucus in the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, urged all members to remain law-abid­ing and avoid actions that could deepen existing divi­sions.

“The court has spoken, and as loyal members of the PDP, we have a duty to obey,” Chin­da said. “That is the only way to recover and reposition our party for the future.”

He commended the faction­al leaders for their firm stance on due process, noting that “any gathering that violates court orders cannot represent the true PDP.”

Chinda called for unity and collective responsibility in rebuilding the party on the principles of justice, fairness, and respect for the rule of law.

“Our focus now should be on reconciliation and re­form,” he added. “This is the time to rebuild, not to divide further.”

Also another chieftain of PDP and former presiden­tial candidate, Dr. Gbenga Hashim, has said that the scheduled convention will not hold this weekend, add­ing that there may likely be a caretaker committee to head the party.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, Hashim, a presidential hopeful in 2027, said that the implication of holding the convention would be too disastrous for the party.

He disclosed that efforts are being made to ensure that the warring factions are reconciled.

He said: “There will not be any convention this weekend because there is a need to rec­oncile the parties.

“And then I’ve asked, and I’ve been speaking to some of the parties, that we don’t need factions. If you have that kind of convention, it will lead to factionalization of the party. So, steps have been taken to ensure that we can have one united convention.

“And probably you will have a caretaker committee. People are discussing this proposition, and we have been on it for some few days.

“The PDP has to be one. It cannot be a random PDP. And then we’ve got our PDP now. We must have one PDP.

“There will be those that are calling for a caretaker committee. This is my origi­nal idea. I’m not with anybody. It was my idea that I proposed to many people.

“The fact that I didn’t come out to make a statement about it does not mean that… I made a statement when this crisis broke out. I was coming to em­bark on high-level consulta­tion. I spoke to few governors. I spoke to key stakeholders. I also spoke to Chairman Da­magum. I spoke to Abdurah­man Muhammad, the leader of the other faction that is act­ing. I spoke with a lot of stake­holders. I spoke with a lot of people. And thank God some kind of reason is prevailing. And I believe that everybody will come to the table at the end of the day.”

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Source: Independent

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