There is confusion in the Peoples Democratic Party over the operation of the party’s constitution by the National Working Committee of the party.
The constitution has yet to be approved by the highest organ of the party, the National Executive Committee.
Some members of the party have complained that the party is implementing a constitution that party members are not familiar with.
A member of the party’s Board of Trustees, who spoke on condition of anonymity with our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday, said the NWC should not be implementing a constitution that was unknown to majority of party members.
“We don’t even know what is in the constitution because the constitution is yet to get the final approval of members of the NEC,” the BoT member said.
He said there were possibilities that a cabal within the hierarchy of the party could use some unknown provisions in the constitution to deny some of those aspiring to be chairman of the board a chance to contest.
Investigations by our correspondent showed that the last NEC of the party had deferred the approval of the constitution to a later date when all its members would have read and made their submissions known to the highest organ of the party.
That was one of the resolutions reached by NEC at its last meeting, which was held at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja on July 20.
But despite this resolution, it was learnt that the party’s top hierarchy had started operating the constitution.
During the NWC’s 315th regular meeting on September 12, it re-admitted the former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, citing the unapproved constitution to back up its action.
Also, the NWC after its meeting on October 17, dissolved the Adamawa Executive Committee of the party, using the yet-to-be approved constitution as its defence.
While announcing the dissolution of the executive, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Olisa Metuh said, “ This is in exercise of Article 31, section 2(e) and 29, 2 (b) of the 2012 amended constitution of our party and consequent on repeated breaches of the constitution by the Adamawa chapter. A caretaker committee has been set up in its place.”
The party inaugurated a caretaker committee, headed by Amb Umar Damagun from Yobe State, that same day.
On October 23, the NWC also announced the suspension of the party’s National Vice Chairman in the North-East, Alhaji Girigiri, for indiscipline.
Metuh said the suspended party official was accused of breaching Articles 51(1)(b)(c) (h) of the party’s constitution.
It was learnt that the provisions cited by the NWC were in the yet-to-be approved constitution, which members don’t have.
Speaking on the matter, the National Legal Adviser of the party, Mr. Victor Kwon, said the constitution was adopted at the party’s convention.
He said what the party was waiting for was to get the response from NEC members on their observations before the constitution would be mass produced.
He said, “The constitution was approved at the convention. It is already operational but NEC wants all the typographical errors and omissions to be rectified before we mass produce. The constitution is in the hands of few members now. We will start circulating it as soon as the NEC approves it.”