The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has finally succumbed to the pressure from the members of the former Labour Party who recently defected to the party in Ondo State by sacking the executive committee of the party (PDP) in the state.
The sacking was meant to accommodate the erstwhile members of the Labour Party, led by the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, in the party.
A statement issued by the PDP National Publicity, Chief Olisa Metuh, in Abuja on Sunday, said the action was taken by the members of the National Working Committee of the PDP.
He said the sacking also involved the executive committees of the party at the wards and local governments levels in the state.
He said, “The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has announced the dissolution of the Ondo State Executive Committee of the party. By this announcement, all structures of the party at the wards, local governments and state levels stand dissolved.
“Consequently, a Caretaker Committee has been constituted to pilot the affairs of the state chapter of the party. The committee has Mr. Dare Adeleke as the Chairman and Solomon Osawu as the Secretary.”
Metuh called on members of the party in the state to continue to work together in harmony even as he said the party was confident now, more than ever before, of its total domination of Ondo politics especially with Mimiko’s defection.
But the leadership of the Ondo State chapter of the PDP has rejected the dissolution of the state executive committee, saying the action was illegal.
A statement signed by its Publicity Director, Ayo Fadaka, in Akure on Sunday, said the party received the news with shock.
The statement said, “To say the least, this action is a clear intention by those we expect to safeguard the interest of the party but they are, by their action, trying to behead it. We also consider this action as a disappointment, particularly in view of the fact that there is a subsisting court order barring the NWC from taking this sort of action.
“Therefore, we reject it and affirm our absolute confidence and support for the members of the executive committees from the wards to the state levels.
“We want to remind Abuja that it is by choice that we are members of the party and that the party is not a prison yard where we are inmates that are bereft of liberties and fundamental rights.
“We also declare our defiance of this action and as such will continue to recognise and relate only with our executives at every level.”
It further noted the action clearly demonstrated that it served the interest of Governor Mimiko as he defected to the party, adding that by the action the national leadership of the party had planted a seed of discord that would germinate very soon.
“We also call on the generality of members of the PDP in Ondo State to be firm and resolute in this period as we will jointly and collective determine, shape and reorder our political destiny,” the statement said.
The sacking of the executive committee was coming a few days before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, would hear the case filed by the state chapter of the party, in which it was asking the court to stop the planned dissolution.
Source: THEPUNCH