A former secretary to the Abia State Government and member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Eme Okoro, has insisted that former Senate President Senator Adolphus Wabara remains the authentic BoT chairman of the party.
Similarly, a two-time commissioner in Abia State, Chief James Okpara, has dismissed the purported removal of Wabara as PDP’s BoT Chairman as “a joke taken too far”.
Okpara also dismissed those claiming to have removed Ambassador Umar Damagum as the National Chairman of PDP as “content creators”, describing their action as “illegality clothed in absurdity”.
The duo spoke separately to journalists on the heels of last week’s emergence of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa and Abdulrahman Mohammed as PDP’s factional BoT Chairman and Abdulrahman Mohammed as Acting National Chairman.
Dr Okoro, a long-time ally of Senator Ohuabunwa, expressed surprise that the former leader of the ECOWAS Parliament did not seek his opinion before taking the decision.
“My friend, Senator Mao, didn’t even tell me that he belongs to a faction that is creating another factional BoT. I’m amazed that it happened. He knows that I’m a very strong member and firm supporter of the Follow Better Organisation, which he founded.
“He should have consulted with people before taking that action. He knows I’m a member of the BoT of the party and should have given me that opportunity to dialogue with him.”
The elder statesman and foundational member of the party advised those who disagree with the majority opinion of the party to look for alternative platforms instead of staying back to destroy the party that made them.
He attributed the genesis of the crisis in PDP to selfishness, injustice and lack of discipline, and expressed disappointment over the level of impunity and disregard for the party’s constitution and due process by some members of the party.
He queried the legality of holding the purported inauguration of a new BoT of PDP in a member’s private residence.
“When I attended our last BoT meeting a few days ago in Abuja, it was not held in somebody’s house. It was held on an official platform and in an official area.
“Senator Adolphus Wabara is our BoT Chairman. I recognise him because we have not been dissolved by the appropriate body. It will be dissolved when we go to a convention, and we have the majority opinion about dissolving or not dissolving.”
The former SSG alleged that external forces, with some internal collaborators, were working to weaken and ultimately destroy PDP.
Okoro blamed the national leadership of the PDP for its inability to wield the big stick against those igniting the crisis in the party long before now.
The octogenarian decried the double standard being exhibited by some members of the party and the failure of the party leadership to call them to order.
“Wike once said that PDP is malaria, and APC, cancer. He said he doubted himself being in the APC. Now they’re all going to APC, which is cancerous! I prefer to take malaria drugs rather than to be chastised into dying of cancer.
“That is a double standard. I thought the leadership would have said, ‘Let us discipline people who have caused this problem.’ But it was unable to do that.”
Okoro recommended strong disciplinary action against all those instigating the crisis in the party and expressed doubts over the future of the PDP if the problem were not urgently and holistically addressed.
Meanwhile, two-time Commissioner Chief Okpara urged members of the public to disregard the purported removal of Senator Wabara as BoT Chairman, describing it as an exercise in futility.
“The decision of a few individuals meeting in the private residence of someone working for the Federal Government cannot and should not be regarded as a valid PDP meeting. Whatever they did there is null, void, and of no consequence.”
Insisting that Wabara remains the BoT Chairman of PDP, Okpara said that “any attempt to remove him without following the provisions of the party’s constitution is an exercise in futility.”
He urged the National Working Committee (NWC) and all genuine party faithful to remain focused and united, stressing that the PDP remains the only platform with the experience and structure to rescue Nigeria from the hardship currently witnessed under the ruling APC.
Okpara also slammed those opposing the forthcoming National Convention of the PDP, describing their actions as unpatriotic, illegal, and detrimental to the survival of the party.
He said that “any individual or group working to frustrate the National Convention is clearly acting against the collective interest of the PDP and its founding ideals.”
Okpara blasted those claiming to have suspended or removed Wabara and Damagum, describing them as “content creators engaging in political comedy.”
“Those who claimed to have suspended or removed the BoT Chairman and the National Chairman of our great party are nothing but content creators.
“It is worrisome that the main persons driving the media and propaganda of some officials in a rival party are purported PDP officers.
“Their marketability is because they are seen as PDP members. The path of honour and decency is for them to resign from the PDP and officially work for their preferred party.
“It is unfortunate that some supposed members are working from within to destroy the PDP and prevent it from being used as a viable vehicle to unseat the APC at the Federal level in 2027.
“Most of these people have already joined another vehicle but are insisting on driving the vehicle of the PDP off the mountain into the Atlantic Ocean.”
