The National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Emmanuel Enoidem, has said that only a national convention can remove the National Working Committee (NWC) or any national officer.
The legal adviser made the clarifiaion In a rejoinder on Monday to a communique issued by some NWC members after a Sunday night meeting in Abuja.
Enoidem said by Section 29 (3) and Subsection (4) of the PDP constitution, only the national chairman or a summon by two-third of NWC members could convene a meeting.
He noted that the action of the officials was “in utter disdain and violation of clear extant provisions of our constitution”.
Enoidem said the issue of resignation of any officer at any level was a personal decision as stipulated in Sections 45(1) & 47(5).
“There is no provision in our constitution which donates powers to any individuals to ask an officer of the party to resign for any reason whatsoever, as was purported in the so called press release.
“The powers to remove any member of the NWC and indeed any national officer is reserved in the national convention which is due for December 2021″, he stressed.
Six out of the nine at the Sunday meeting voted for the sack of the embattled PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus.
At the meeting were Deputy National Chairman (North), Suleiman Nazif; National Secretary, Umar Tsauri; National Auditor, Adamu Mustapha; National Financial Secretary, Abdulahi Maibasira.
Others were Youth Leader, S. K. Udeh-Okoye; Vice Chairman (SW), Taofiq Arapaja; Vice Chairman (SE), Ali Odefa; Vice Chairman (SS), Dan Orbih, and Vice chairman (NC), Chief Theophilus Dakas.
“The matter of his resignation was put to vote, six members voted that he should resign and three members abstained from voting,” the communique read.
Six NWC members who voted against Secondus were Nazif, Mustapher, Udeh- Okoye, Arapaja, Orbih and Odefa.
The PDP body comprises 18 members, including six national vice chairmen from the geopolitical zones. ##
