The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formally notified 11 former members of their expulsion by issuing certificates that were couriered to the affected individuals, the party’s new national chairman, Tanimu Turaki, SAN, announced on Tuesday.
Turaki told reporters the certificates are intended to remove any legal ambiguity about the expelled members’ status, allowing them to register with other political parties without falling foul of laws against dual membership. He said the move follows decisions taken at the party’s recent National Convention in Ibadan.
“We have taken note of Nigerian law which frowns on dual membership of political parties, and so we have sought to make it easy for them,” Turaki said.
“Now that they are no longer members of our party, and the National Convention, the highest decision-making organ of our party has expelled them, we have decided to issue them certificates of expulsion so they can show proof to other parties,” he added.
Turaki displayed copies of the letters to journalists and confirmed they were dispatched by courier. Among those whose certificates were sent are: Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike; former Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose; former PDP national secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu; Umaru Bature; Kamarudeen Ajibade (SAN); Abdurahman Muhammad; Senator Mao Ohuabunwa; Austin Nwachukwu; Abraham Amah Nnanna; George Turna; and Chief Dan Orbih.
“The certificates have been dispatched via courier to the 11 persons who have been expelled,” Turaki told the media, adding that some recipients may already have taken delivery.
The party leadership says the step is administrative, aimed at clarifying membership status and urged all stakeholders to allow internal processes to run their course. The expulsions and subsequent certificates come amid intense internal disputes that have roiled the party at the national level.
