PDP South West crisis may fester as Fayose threatens ‘dissidents’ with sanctions

The crisis threatening to engulf the Southwest zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may fester. No thanks to Governor Ayo Fayose’s description as dissidents, some members of the party in the zone who have dragged the party to court. He added that there will be sanctions for such action.

Meanwhile, the party has resolved to raise caretaker committees in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Osun states, having dissolved the executive members of the party in those states, during its non-elective convention in Abuja.

The chairman of PDP Governors Forum and Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose made this disclosure during South-West PDP Reconciliation Committee meeting held in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital on Wednesday.

Fayose’s statement is in apparent response to the action of the sacked South-West Zonal Executive Committee and the party executive committee in Ogun State, who have in separate suits dragged the leadership of the party to a Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge PDP’s dissolution of the committees.

The PDP South-West Zonal Executive Committee, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/732/2017, and filed by the committee secretary Pega Otemolu, is asking the court to nullify the 75th National Executive Committee meeting of the PDP.

The suit by sacked Ogun State executive committee marked FHC/ABJ/CS/701/2017, and filed by Adebayo Dayo and Alhaji Semiu Sodipo on behalf of themselves and the dissolved PDP executive committee in Ogun State, is also praying the court to annul the party dissolution of the committee.

Read also: Again, rumble in PDP as Southwest excos drag Makarfi to court

But Fayose, who is the chairman of the reconciliation committee in the zone, in the meeting attended by the committee secretary Rev. Bunmi Jenyo, a former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, and a former deputy governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, lambasted the party members dragging PDP back to court.

He said, “This exercise is an outcome of our recent non-elective national convention. The leaders have mandated us to bring on those who are ready to support our great party in the drive to chart a new way forward for the PDP. In doing this, we won’t give room for dissidents to frustrate us and our efforts.

“Some people are claiming to be members of our party and at the same time going to court to frustrate the party. They tried unsuccessfully to stop the last convention using the court, but they failed woefully. There is no room for anybody who is one leg in and one leg out. It is either you are here or there. I am sure no judge would allow himself to be used as a spoiler by some filthy politicians”.

According to him, “Sanctions will be imposed on errant members and those who are loyal party members and working for the progress of the party have nothing to fear.”

There are fears that Fayose’s posture as head of the reconciliation committee may well escalate the crisis in the party in that zone, as the aggrieved members are not likely to give in to him easily, by withdrawing their cases without an amicable reconciliation.

 

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