In an unprecedented move to formalise the removal of key dissenters, the National Working Committee of the Turaki led Peoples Democratic Party has issued official certificates of expulsion to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, and nine other members.
The certificates were presented during an NWC meeting on Tuesday in Abuja, as confirmed in a statement on the party’s official X handle.
The ceremony also marked the formal handover of leadership from the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, to Senator Kabiru Turaki.
The expulsion, initially ratified at the party’s national convention in Ibadan on November 16, was over allegations of anti-party activities. The new party chairman, Senator Turaki, explained that the unusual step of issuing physical certificates was to comply with Nigerian laws that prohibit dual party membership.
“Now that they are no longer members of our party… we have decided to issue them certificates of expulsion. So that, when they go to register with other political parties… they will show these certificates as proof,” Turaki said.
According to Turaki, the documents have been dispatched via courier to the expelled individuals. The list includes Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the embattled National Secretary; former National Chairman Umaru Bature; and the party’s former National Legal Adviser, Kamarudeen Ajibade (SAN), among others.
The chairman emphasised that the action was necessary to formally notify institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies—including the police and the DSS—of the individuals’ changed status. He issued a stark warning, noting that anyone dealing with the expelled members “does so at his or her own risk.”
“We hope that members of the PDP… will know that the party has once again gotten rid of the cankerworms that have been afflicting and creating problems for us,” Turaki added, stating that the party is now focused on rebuilding for the 2027 general elections.
This move, however, sits within an ongoing bitter factional war. The convention that expelled the members defied court orders related to internal disputes. In response, the Wike-loyalist faction held a parallel meeting in Abuja, where they announced the expulsion of rival figures, including Governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed, and the new PDP Chairman, Senator Turaki himself.
The issuance of expulsion certificates marks a new, formalised phase in the PDP’s internal crisis, transforming political disagreements into documented administrative action.
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