| The Daily Crucible | Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Hope of peace and harmony returning
to Ogun state chapter of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) dimmed further on Tuesday, with the suspension of its governorship aspirant, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, the Acting Chairman, Hon. Taiwo Akinlabi, State Secretary, Hon. Sunday Solarin, State publicity secretary, Mr. Akinloye Bankole and Ogun east senatorial chairman, Arc. Kayode Adebayo on grounds that they acted in flagrant disobedience of the subsisting court judgement which produced the current executives of the party.
The State PDP noted that Adebutu and four others by their actions, betrayed the terms of settlement entered by the two warring factions in the State.
The Daily Crucible reports that earlier this October, Ogun State PDP suspended Otunba Jimi Adebisi Lawal for participating in an alleged illegal primary conducted by people it described as "dissident members of the party."
The party also suspended four others alongside Jimi Lawal. The quartet are; the state financial Secretary, Bola Odunmosu, Ijebu North Local Government chairman of the PDP, Tope Ashiru, Kola Akinyemi and Bashiru Ajadi.
The affected persons were suspended from further participating in any of the party's activities for a month following alleged overt and covert roles they played in the said illegal Congress conducted.
The decision to suspend them was reached at the end of the State Working Committee (SWC) meeting of PDP on October 17 which was chaired by the Acting State Chairman, Chief Taiwo Akinlabi.
Jimi Lawal was one of the governorship aspirant that contested for the PDP'S governorship ticket which Hon Ladi Adebutu won but when Lawal's camp challenged it at a Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the presiding Justice O.O. Oguntoyinbo recently gave an order nullified the primary that produced Adebutu as candidate of PDP and ordered a fresh primary within two weeks.
Apparently trying to carry out the order of the Court order, the suspended held a primary in the state, allegedly, without authorisation by relevant organs of PDP.
The State Secretary, Sunday Solarin who announced the suspension at the PDP State Secretariat, Abeokuta, the state capital, said Lawal and four others will face party's Disciplinary Committee to determine their innocence or guilt.
Solarin described them as dissidents who were working to continually bring the party to disrepute and frustrate its efforts at wresting power from the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in the state in 2023.
But in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta on Tuesday and co-signed by the Financial Secretary and Assistant State Treasurer of the party, Hon. Bola Odumosu and Mrs. Akibu Oriyomi (a.k.a Irorun) respectively, the party said the suspended members were found guilty of contravening the terms of settlement entered in the consent judgement that birthed the current executives of the party in the State.
Aside that, they were also alleged to have connived with some unscrupulous elements within the party to manipulate the delegates' list used in conducting the primary election of the party in Ogun State which consequently led to the multiple court judgements nullifying the party's primary elections in the State. A situation that has led to the party not having candidates for the 2023 general election unless the courts come to the rescue of the party. This has never happened in the nearly 24 years of the Party in Ogun state!
Part of the statement reads, "It is a known fact that the current executives of our party in Ogun State are a product of the consent judgement which was obtained after both parties (Adebutu & Kashamu faction) agreed to the terms of settlement. Clearly, a part of the judgement indicating security of tenure reads that, "The parties agree that persons nominated into positions in the Ogun state executive committee in pursuant to these terms of settlement SHALL NOT be REMOVED or SUSPENDED until the expiration of the term of the current Executive Committee of the PDP in Ogun State in April, 2024".
To our greatest surprise, some lawless individuals gathered themselves to announce the suspension of members in doing the bid of their paymaster. This is totally against the position of the terms of settlement. Also, these bad eggs connived with an aspirant of the party to manipulate the delegates' list used during the primary elections which led to the nullification of all the elections, leaving our party with no candidates as of now, despite the short period to election. This is absurd, senseless and unacceptable. We have never had it this bad in Ogun PDP. They will soon be cited for contempt of court having acted in flagrant disobedience of existing court judgments and orders.
In the light of the foregoing and having been found culpable of acts capable of threatening the peace and unity of the party, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, Hon. Taiwo Akinlabi, Hon. Sunday Solarin, Mr. Akinloye Bankole & Arc. Kayode Adebayo are hereby suspended for a period of thirty (30) days.They are to appear before the State Disciplinary Committee of the party to explain why their suspension should not translate to expulsion on or before the expiration of the one-month suspension.
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