By Luminous Jannamike
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara, has declared that the party’s long-awaited national convention will proceed as planned, despite growing calls from some members for a caretaker committee to be established instead.
Wabara made the declaration on Thursday at his Abuja residence during the presentation of the report of the PDP BoT Reconciliation Committee.
The committee, chaired by Ambassador Hassan Adamu with Chief Mike Oghiadomhe as secretary, was established to resolve internal disputes and facilitate a smooth convention.
The BoT chairman stated that all major organs of the PDP, including the Governors’ Forum, the National Working Committee (NWC), and the Board itself, had already agreed to hold the convention, insisting that only a court order could prevent it.
“It is absolutely practical 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. The Governors’ Forum, the NWC, and the Board of Trustees in our last meeting made mention of us going to the convention,” Wabara declared.
He noted that while the party would always respect the rule of law, it was disturbing that some court orders appeared to contradict Supreme Court pronouncements.
“You don’t make all kinds of orders when the Supreme Court has deliberated on a matter. So, you are essentially challenging the Supreme Court of the land, but in Nigeria, anything goes. As far as the organs of the party are concerned, the convention will hold,” he said.
Responding to claims that the BoT had intervened too late in the party’s internal crisis, Wabara dismissed such suggestions, describing the situation as self-inflicted and rooted in personal ambition among party leaders.
“There is actually no crisis. All these problems within the PDP are self-inflicted. The problem is elective interests, which they have even fixed up till 2031. Some people want the party dead now, and then they will resurrect it in 2031 for their use,” he maintained.
Wabara said he and other senior BoT members had no personal political ambitions, stressing that their only concern was to keep the party alive and functional. He also reminded party members that opposition politics should focus on constructive criticism, not just power struggles.
“Opposition does not mean taking over power. Opposition generally is to guide the ruling party to do the right thing, provided those criticisms are very objective. The secretary, to the best of my knowledge, has no interest other than that the party must survive,” he said.
He lamented the BoT’s lack of financial resources to fully enforce its mandates or support its reconciliation initiatives, saying earlier post-election efforts were hindered by funding challenges.
“We in the BoT don’t have what it takes to support our positions. After the 2023 elections, the BoT swung into action, headed by David Mark on the code of conduct. However, because we didn’t have the necessary funds, we could not proceed. Those who were supposed to provide that money did not do so up to today,” he explained.
Wabara commended the committee members for their efforts and assured them that the BoT would study their findings carefully. He reiterated that the party’s unity and adherence to democratic principles remained the guiding focus of his leadership.
Earlier, Ambassador Hassan Adamu stated that the Reconciliation Committee was established on November 5 and tasked with engaging key party stakeholders to produce recommendations that would ensure a peaceful and credible convention.
“We have gone round, we have spoken to various segments of our party, our leaders, Governors’ Forum, and others, and we have now come up with our recommendations for a hitch-free convention. It’s been a very difficult assignment, but we have done our very best to present our findings,” Adamu stated.
In his remarks, Committee Secretary Chief Mike Oghiadomhe stated that the team conducted wide-ranging consultations with top stakeholders, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the PDP Governors’ Forum, the NWC, suspended national officers, and former Senate President Bukola Saraki.
“We noted that this is a very arduous task because the time was short and a lot of positions had been taken. We met with the FCT Minister, the Governors’ Forum, the NWC led by the Deputy National Chairman, and the suspended officers. We also consulted Dr. Bukola Saraki before drafting our observations and recommendations,” Oghiadomhe explained.
He said the committee’s report offered a roadmap for sustainable and progressive party administration, based on the realities confronting the PDP.
“We believe we have tried to connect all the issues plaguing our party today. Our recommendations are based on our desire to present a roadmap for sustainable and progressive party administration at this point in time,” Oghiadomhe said.
Vanguard News
The post Some want PDP dead till 2031, but convention must hold – Wabara appeared first on Vanguard News.