The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has issued certificates of expulsion to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and 10 other members of his faction of the opposition party suspended by the National Convention in November.
Others who were issued expulsion certificates are a former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, former National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, National Legal Adviser, Kamarudeen Ajibade, factional BoT Chairperson, Mao Ohuabunwa, factional National Chairperson, Abdulrahman Mohammed, and a National Vice Chairperson (South-south), Dan Orbih and George Turnah.
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The Chairperson of the PDP in Imo State, Austin Nwachukwu, and his Abia State counterpart, Abraham Amah, also got certificates.
The National Chairperson of the PDP, Kabiru Turaki, announced this on Tuesday while briefing journalists shortly after a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
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Mr Turaki said the NWC had reviewed and affirmed the expulsions earlier approved by the National Convention, PDP’s highest decision-making organ and subsequently dispatched certificates of expulsion to all 11 affected members.
He mocked the expelled members, saying the certificates would “make life easier for them” by preventing any ambiguity about their exit from the party and eliminating the possibility of dual party membership.
“We have also considered the issue of members of our party who were expelled by the national convention in Ibadan. We have taken note of the fact that Nigerian law frowns on dual membership of political parties, and so we have sought to make it easy for them.
“Now that they are no longer members of our party, and now that the national convention, which is the highest decision-making organ of our party, has expelled them, we have decided to issue them certificates of expulsion so that when they go to register with other political parties in Nigeria, they will show these certificates as proof that they are no longer members of the PDP, and so those parties will not accuse them of trying to belong to more than one political party.
“Distinguished members of the press, as I speak to you, these certificates have been dispatched via courier to the 11 persons who have been expelled,” he said.
How they were expelled
The motion to expel Mr Wike and 10 others was moved by a former National Deputy Chairperson of the PDP (South), Bode George, during the party’s national convention in Ibadan in November.
Mr George, a former military governor of Ondo State, told the convention that Mr Wike’s actions had brought the party into disrepute and accused the minister of recruiting Messrs Fayose, Anyanwu, Abdulrahman, and seven others to destroy the party.
The motion was subsequently approved after a majority of the delegates supported it through voice votes.
The party maintained that the expulsions were carried out in line with its constitution, which grants the national convention supreme authority over party matters, including disciplinary measures.
However, two PDP governors, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, rejected the expulsion.
Mr Fintiri argued that Mr Wike’s expulsion was not taken in the best interest of the party and, for that reason, he would not associate himself with it.
On the other hand, Mr Mutfwang said the decision to expel the politicians was neither discussed at the PDP Governors’ Forum nor at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting before it was presented and adopted at the national convention.
‘Expulsion meant for Nigerians’
Mr Turaki said the issuance of expulsion certificates was also intended to alert the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the Nigerian public that the affected individuals no longer belong to the PDP.
“Gentlemen of the press, we have done this for Nigerians, particularly critical institutions involved in managing the affairs of political parties, especially INEC, and agencies managing security affairs in society: the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps and other government agencies—to know that these people are no longer members of our party. They have been expelled. They remain expelled. We have now certified their expulsion, and these certificates have been sent to them,” he said.
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He warned that any member of the public who engages the expelled individuals as representatives of the PDP does so at their own risk.
“Very soon, members of the society will be informed via proper disclaimers that any person henceforth who decides to do business with them, any or all of them, does so at his or her own risk. They are no longer members of the People’s Democratic Party. They have been expelled.
“You, today, are living witnesses to their certificates of expulsion. We hope that members of the PDP in Nigeria and the diaspora will know that the party has once again gotten rid of the cankerworms that have been afflicting and creating problems for us in our activities,” he noted.
The Chairperson added that the party was now focused on rebuilding and providing effective opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We are now prepared to be saddled with the responsibility of performing our functions as the leading opposition party in Nigeria. We are going to provide a credible alternative to Nigerians. We are going to provide credible leadership to Nigerians by the special grace of God from 2027,” he added.
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