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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State has expelled the Chairperson of the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT), Adolphus Wabara.
The Chairperson of the PDP in Abia State, Abraham Amah, in a statement said the party’s State Working Committee (SWC) announced the decision on Tuesday after an emergency meeting following the report of its disciplinary committee.
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The State Secretary of the PDP, Peter Nwaokonko, also signed the statement.
Initial suspension
The latest development comes almost one month after Mr Wabara was suspended for one month for alleged anti-party activities.
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The former Senate president of Nigeria was accused of endorsing Governor Alex Otti of Abia State for a second term in October 2023, barely five months into his administration.
Mr Otti was elected governor of Abia State under the platform of the Labour Party during the 2023 general elections.
Inaugurated on 29 May 2023, the governor’s first tenure will end in May 2027.
Mr Wabara hails from Abia State.
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP later faulted the suspension, describing it as “unconstitutional, null and void.”
Last week, a High Court in Abia State restrained the PDP from enforcement of the purported suspension of the embattled BOT chairperson.
Expulsion
In the Tuesday statement, the PDP in Abia State said the expulsion followed the findings of a committee set up to investigate the embattled BOT chairperson.
“After a thorough review of the committee’s findings and recommendations regarding the expulsion of Senator Adolphus Wabara, the SWC unanimously approved the recommendation contained in the report.
“Senator Adolphus Wabara is hereby expelled from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the statement read in part.
The PDP leaders in the state asked its NWC and the National Executive Committee (NEC) to appoint another party member as acting BOT chairperson.
It argued that expelled members cannot enjoy any rights or privileges within the party, citing Articles 57(3) and 59(1) of the party’s Constitution (2017 as amended).
“The Abia State Executive Committee hereby recommends the immediate appointment of an acting BOT chairman by the NWC and the NEC of our great party,” the statement added.
The PDP leaders stressed that they will continue to be committed to maintaining discipline and ensuring all members abide by the party’s constitution.
“The party remains resolute in preserving unity, loyalty, and respect for party structures. No member, regardless of status, is above the party’s rules and regulations.”
What Wabara told Otti in October 2023
Mr Wabara had praised Governor Otti during the flag off ceremony for the reconstruction of the Port Harcourt Road, Aba in October 2023.
The project was awarded to Julius Berger, a construction company.
During the flag off ceremony, Mr Wabara, who attended the event, told Vanguard newspaper that Mr Otti, by his performances so far, had already secured his second term in office.
“The governor (Otti) is reliable and a true man of honour. With this feat alone, his second term in office is already well assured. He is a master strategist. He wasn’t a top banker for nothing,” the former senator had said.
As of the time the PDP BOT chairperson made the comment, Mr Otti had spent only six months (about 182 days) in office.
Wike-Wabara feud?
The unfolding drama in the Abia PDP appears to be a continuation of the power play between the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike and Mr Wabara.
Messrs Wike and Wabara have been in a face-off over the control of the PDP at the national level.
READ ALSO: 2023 PDP Governorship candidate Jandor dumps party, provides reasons
Both leaders recently engaged in a war of words, with Mr Wike saying he would have disowned Mr Wabara if he were his father.
Mr Wabara, on his part, said he would not join issues with the FCT minister.
Mr Wike’s ally, Okezie Ikpeazu, a former governor of Abia State, is in control of the PDP in the South-eastern state.
