A South East Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Chukwudi Apugo, has accused the Party’s Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, of being responsible for the chaos that disrupted the 78th meeting of the board in Abuja.
In a conversation in Abuja yesterday, Apugo claimed that Wabara’s decision to invite Hon. Sunday Udo-Okoye, a rival claimant for the position of National Secretary, to the meeting was the root cause of the confusion that ensued during Wednesday’s gathering.
Apugo, a two-term member of the Abia State House of Assembly, questioned why Wabara invited Udo-Okoye to the meeting when the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, was already present and performing his official duties.
He stated, “If Wabara did not have a sinister motive, at what stage did it occur to him to invite Sunday Ude-Okoye, who is not a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, to the meeting?”
According to Apugo, the BoT secretariat had initially prepared a list of attendees for the meeting, which, to his knowledge, did not include Udo-Okoye’s name. However, a second list, signed by Wabara and containing Udo-Okoye’s name, was later sent to the gate for security clearance.
Apugo elaborated, “In the amended list Wabara forwarded, Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s name was listed as number 46 with National Secretary as his designation, and on the same list Sunday Ude-Okoye’s name appeared number 47 with the same designation as National Secretary.”
Notably, only Anyanwu was listed as Secretary in the original list prepared by the secretariat.
Apugo further criticized Wabara’s actions, stating, “Senator Wabara’s action amounts to contempt of Court because the Court of Appeal has granted Senator’s motion for a stay of execution while pursuing his Appeal against the earlier judgments Ude-Okoye is relying on, and Wabara is well aware of these facts.”
He emphasized the importance of respecting judicial orders, adding, “Since the Court of Appeal presided over by its President issued a directive, it is incumbent on all law-abiding citizens to respect that order of the court.”
The incident has raised concerns about internal discord within the PDP, particularly regarding the handling of leadership disputes and adherence to legal rulings.
