The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has relocated the venue of its meeting to the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja’s Central Business District after armed police officers prevented the members from accessing the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.
The BoT members, who had arrived at the secretariat early Monday for the meeting, were denied access by security personnel, who barricaded the premises.
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The Chairman of the BoT, Adolphus Wabara, condemned the cancellation of the NEC meeting on Thursday, insisting that the action was unconstitutional and a gross violation of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).
About 12 members of the National Working Committee (NWC) had insisted that the NEC meeting be held as scheduled in line with the resolution of its 99th meeting. The NWC members also rejected the reinstatement of Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary.
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The BoT members and the splinter NWC officials were reacting to a disclosure by the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagun, at a press conference last Wednesday, recognising Mr Anyanwu as secretary and that the scheduled NEC meeting on 30 June would merely be a special expanded caucus meeting.
Mr Anyanwu issued a notice on Sunday affirming Mr Damagum’s position.
According to the notice, the expanded caucus meeting is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. today (Monday) at the NEC Hall in Wadata Plaza, the party’s secretariat, which is now under police siege.
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The notice further listed those expected to attend the meeting, including statutory members of the national caucus, deputy national officers, members of the Board of Trustees, state party chairpersons, PDP members of the National Assembly, former NWC members still in the party, ex-officio members, former governors, and recent governorship candidates.
The PDP has yet to issue an official explanation for the police presence at its headquarters.
However, a party official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak, alleged that the security lockdown was a deliberate move to block the proposed expanded caucus meeting.
As of press time, BoT members and their allies had begun converging on the Yar’Adua Centre in preparation for the NEC meeting.
