THE acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Lanre Omolase, has dismissed the dissolution of the Executive Committee of the party in the state by the Iyorchia Ayu-led National Working Committee (NWC).
The PDP had in a letter by its national spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba, dissolved the party exco in Ekiti on Friday, January 20.
Ologunagba stated that the party’s NWC dissolved the Ekiti exco following recent developments in the chapter, which he did not elaborate on.
He, however, explained that the decision was taken “after careful deliberations and extensive consultations, on behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and pursuant to Sections 29(2)(b) and 31(2)(e) of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).”
The spokesperson also said the party had approved the appointment of Sadiq Obanoyen, an architect, as the chairman of the caretaker committee.
The party’s National Assembly members in the state were also suspended.
Reacting, Omolase, in a statement on Sunday, January 22, described the decision of the NWC as an exercise in futility.
He said that he remained the party’s chairman in Ekiti State until a court of competent jurisdiction rules otherwise.
He stressed that the NWC’s decision to dissolve the exco ran foul of a subsisting court order that proclaimed him as chairman of the party in the state.
“I want to say, proclaim and declare that I am still the Acting Chairman of the PDP in Ekiti and only the court of law can say otherwise.
“The position of the court is that nothing must be done concerning the State Chairmanship of the PDP in Ekiti until final determination of a suit filed when two persons were laying claim to the chairmanship of the party.
“Apart from the fact that there is a subsisting court order backing my position, the National Working Committee does not also have powers to sack duly elected Exco members of the party at whatever level,” he said.
The PDP chieftain also condemned the suspension of the National Assembly candidates of the party in the state, noting that there was nowhere the candidates were invited to defend themselves and, therefore, did not get a fair hearing.
He added that the only problem the state chapter of the party had with the NWC was the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in which members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) were accorded vantage positions.
He noted that the chapter’s position was that the SDP had National Assembly candidates whose elections will be held same day as that of the president, and the party was only interested in funding its candidates with resources from PDP.
He said several letters were written, even to the Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on the chapter’s grievances but nothing was done.
“For the campaign rally, only two out of nine National Assembly candidates were involved. Even me, as the Acting Chairman, was totally ignored.
“It, therefore, appears funny and laughable to me that a National Working Committee that did not visit Ekiti during the last governorship election is now angry that we did not attend a presidential rally that we were never involved in its planning,” he added.
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