The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ogun PDP

  • Kashamu rejects Ogun PDP caretaker committee

    Kashamu rejects Ogun PDP caretaker committee

    The senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Buruji Kashamu, has rejected the composition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caretaker committee for the state’s chapter of the party.

    In a statement released shortly after the Tunde Odanye- led caretaker committee was inaugurated by the Chairman of the party’s National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Kashamu said membership of the committee was one-sided.

    The senator, who is a staunch supporter of the Ali Modu Sheriff faction, also said the inauguration of the committee was a slap on the judiciary.

    He said the dissolved executive committee in the state had a court judgment in its favour and that had not been appealed by the national leadership of the party.

    Kashamu said: “The action of the Senator  Ahmed Makarfi-led NCC which derives its legitimacy from the court is not only an affront on the peace-loving leaders and members of our party in Ogun State, but also a most devastating slap on the judiciary.

    “The caretaker committee is one-sided and made up of ex- Governor Gbenga Daniel’s nominees with the exception of the chairman. How then could these people be talking of reconciliation and harmonisation? Clearly, they are liars and deceivers.

    “Having emerged from validly organised congress which was ratified by the 71st National Executive Committee, the NCC is aware of the valid and subsisting judgment in favour of the Adebayo Dayo-led State Executive Committee of the PDP in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/636/2016 which is yet to be appealed, set aside or upturned.

    “Yet, it chose to continue on the path of impunity and lawlessness. I do not see how these people can reposition the party. They want to compound its problems.

    “The Ogun State PDP executive under the leadership of Adebayo Dayo has binding court judgment and orders legitimising it as the duly and validly elected state executive until 2020.

    “This clearly allows the Adebayo Dayo-led executive to remain in office and carry out all its due responsibilities and functions.

    “The mere fact that the national convention has the powers to dissolve itself or even the party does not give anyone the powers to brush aside valid and subsisting court judgment.”

     

  • Okupe’s exit a non-issue – Ogun PDP

    Okupe’s exit a non-issue – Ogun PDP

    The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) on Tuesday declared that the exit of Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to ex- President Goodluck  Jonathan, from the party  was a “non- issue and good riddance to negativity.”

    The party said Okupe would not be missed at all, adding that his departure constituted no loss to the party at state and national levels.

    The party, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary in Ogun, Bolaji Adeniji, said Okupe’s decision to quit PDP is “self – serving” and portrayed him as one who only benefited from the system but contributed nothing to its rebuilding.

    “Let it be quickly stated that it is a welcomed development and no one will begrudge him for such a personal decision that has no immediate or long term effect on the fortunes of the party both in Ogun and nationally.

    “Whereas, his exit is of no consequence to the progress of our party and no one will miss him for any fundamental ideology and value. We are constrained to address two of the grounds on which he hinged his self-serving decision.

    “This is important because he misrepresented many facts and purports to embarrass the party with his wild and unpatriotic remarks that have become trademarks. When an elder does not know the limits of talking, he is bound to goof irredeemably.

    “Okupe in his statement noted that the future of the party may not be significantly affected whichever way the judgement of the Supreme Court goes. We find this unfortunate because it shows that he is one of those who do not mean well for the party.

    “It is shameful that at a time when relevant stakeholders such as governors, senators, BOT members and other loyal members, have resolved to forge ahead in unity irrespective of the apex court decision, an Okupe is a lone voice, steeped in negativity and backwardness.

    “Secondly, he alluded that the party in Ogun State is irredeemably fictionalized. We again regard this as fallacious, malicious and a figment of his imagination. The leadership in Ogun State is incontrovertible and sacrosanct.

    “The people are united and working hard towards electoral success in 2019. That some persons decided to form a social group to push the personal ambition of their sponsors, does not translate to fictionalisation and we will not allow Okupe to legitimise the aberrant and rebellious activities of some of our members.”

     

     

  • Ogun PDP: More trouble as party expels Daniel, Adebutu, others

    Ogun PDP: More trouble as party expels Daniel, Adebutu, others

    The crisis rocking the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) worsened yesterday as the party expelled former Governor Gbenga Daniel, House of Representatives member, Hon. Ladi Adebutu and factional chairman, Sikirullai Ogundele, from its fold. Also expelled is the factional state Secretary, Tolu Bankole.

    The party said the decision to expel Daniel, Adebutu, Ogundele and other was predicated on the need to rescue the state chapter of the PDP from total collapse, following alleged anti – party activities of the trio in their determination to continually undermine and destroy the PDP in Ogun state..

    Addressing reporters at the State Secretariat of PDP on IBB Boulevard, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the Chairman, Engr. Bayo Dayo, said they couldn’t continue  to fold their hands and allow the quartet to pull down the house before relocating to another political party.

    Dayo declared that the expulsion is “subject to no appeal or consideration as the four people are incurably cancerous to the PDP” and that the party “is better off without them.”

    “The State Executive Committee have examined their actions and concluded that it is continually inimical to the sustenance and progress of the PDP in Ogun state. We shall not allow them to destroy our party before migrating to another one. Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, Sikirulai Ogundele and Tolu Bankole are guilty of acts of insubordination, willful undermining of the party and antiparty activities.

    “They are hereby expelled from the party and they cease to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun state and the entire Federation,” Dayo said.

    According to him, the executives shall continue to instill discipline in the party while working to also reposition it for future electoral success.

    It should be recalled that the faction of the party where Sikirullai Ogundele is the Chairman, had last Friday  suspended Engr. Bayo Dayo, Senator Buruji Kashamu, Zonal Secretary, Chief Pegba Otemolu and others from Ogun PDP, alleging anti – party activities of the trio as reason for the suspension.

  • Ogun PDP: One chapter, three chairmen

    Ogun PDP: One chapter, three chairmen

    Inspite of efforts to close ranks, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State is yet to get its acts together. Correspondent ERNEST NWOKOLO examines the root of the crisis rocking the chapter and why it appears intractable.

    T he crisis that rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), prior to the 2011 general elections was a major factor that propelled the All Progressives Congress (APC) to regain control of Ogun State. It was a proxy war between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Governor Gbenga Daniel over the control of the party. Obasanjo had insisted that former Sole Administrator of Ekiti State General Tunji Olurin should get the party’s ticket for the governorship. But, Daniel preferred the ex-Managing Director of the Gateway Holdings, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, for the role. At the end, the party became polarised, with the Daniel faction breaking away to contest the general elections on a different platform. The rest is history.

    The party re-united in the build-up to last year’s elections. The grouping brought together all the PDP factions and groups Daniel, Prince Buruji Kashamu, supporters of former Speaker Dimeji Bankole and ex-Minister Tunji Ishola came together to fight the ruling APC.

    But, the re-union did not endure. The cracks that were hurriedly mended for the sole purpose of returning to power became widened; with the gladiators pulling it apart in different directions. This became evident when the three major gladiators in the chapter conducted separate ward, local government and state congresses last month. The arrowheads of the battle were: Hon. Ladi Adebutu, who represents Remo North, Sagamu and Ikenne Constituencies at the House of Representatives; Senator Buruji Kashamu, who represents Ogun East District at the Senate; and Bankole, who hails from Ogun Central.

    The implication is that multiple chairmen and other officers emerged. Bayo Dayo was re-elected for the second term in the congress conducted at the party secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, by the Kashamu group, while Sikirulai Ogundele emerged Chairman in the Adebutu camp. The congress that produced Ogundele as the Chairman was conducted at the auditorium of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta. The Bankole faction had its congress at the Centennary Hall, Ake, Abeokuta, with Wale Egunleti emerging as the Chairman and Hon. Tolu Fatoki the Secretary.

    According to observers, the precursor to the parallel congresses is to be found in the emerging clash of interests towards the 2019 general elections, which is three years away.

    The Adebutu and the Bankole camp are not happy with the way and manner Kashamu is trying to take over the structures of the party. The senator emerged as the major financier of the party in 2011 when he took the structures from Daniel. Since the 2011 debacle, he has been determining – almost singlehandedly — who gets the PDP’s tickets for various elective offices, to the detriment of the party electorally.

    In the opinion of these camps, Kashamu appeared to be succeeding in his unilateral moves. Their argument is that, if they did not rise up now to challenge the ‘one-man-takes-all’ style of Kashamu, the electoral fortune of the chapter may dim the hope of capturing the state from the APC in 2019.

    Fatoki, the Secretary of the faction loyal to Bankole, said divergent interests were fuelling the internal rancour in the Ogun PDP. He noted that his camp obtained its nomination forms on which congresses were conducted from the national body in Abuja and that the crises are the handiwork of contending interests over the 2019 general elections. He said: “It is about interests; some people want to use their interest to overshadow that of the group. So, I do not rule out 2019 connection in the internal rancour in Ogun PDP.”

    The party is in disarray. No one is sure which group conducted the authentic congress or which set of executives is the authentic one. Each of the factions continues to lay claims to legitimacy and authenticity.

    But, as far as the party’s National Congress Committee Chairman for Ogun State, Mohammed El-Yakub, is concerned, there was no such thing called separate or parallel congresses, let alone parallel executives. He told reporters after the conclusion of the congress of the Kashamu-led faction that the Dayo-led executive is the authentic one.

    El-Yakub said based on the party’s constitution and guidelines for the congresses, the accreditation and voting took place at the designated centres approved by the National Working Committee (NWC), with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) observing the exercise.

    His words: “I am not aware of any parallel congress in Ogun, because we have designated centres and the congresses my committee monitored took place in those centres. Members of the committee monitored the exercise across the three senatorial districts and it was peaceful and smooth.

    “We carried all the members along and asked any intending contestant to approach the party secretariat to obtain forms. We gave everybody a level-playing ground and equal opportunity. What I know is that some people cannot consider themselves as having conducted authentic congress without nomination forms.”

    Few days to the congress, an ominous cloud had hovered over the party. Some chieftains had obtained an injunction from the High Court, in Abeokuta, ordering the chapter to put on hold, its planned ward, local, as well as the state congresses. The ex-parte motion for the order was brought before Justice Mobolaji Ojo. The chieftains got among other things, an order restraining the Dayo-led State Executive Committee from conducting or superintending the supervision of all the congresses.

    The chieftains, who filed the application, are: Wasiu Sanni, Alhaja Nike Odutola, Mr Semiu Babatunde, Semiu Adesanya and Elder Shola Soledolu. The defendants are: the PDP, INEC, Dayo and Semiu Sodipo, who emerged Secretary of the Kashamu group.

    According to the applicants, the tenure of the executive had lapsed last February, adding that Dayo lacked the power to conduct any congress or supervise it.

    Ogundele, the Chairman of the Adebutu faction, maintained that the officers produced are the authentic ones. The former elected Chairman of Ifo Local Government Council said theirs is the the constitutionally-recognised one and that it emerged to arrest the drift foisted on the party by the Dayo-led executives under the prompting of one man (Kashamu). He faulted congress that produced the Dayo-led executives, saying it was an exercise in futility, because it was founded on illegality.

    According to him, they had already gotten a court injunction, restraining the faction from conducting or supervising the congresses.

    The Stakeholders Committee was put in place by the party at the expiration of Bayo’s tenure on February 28. The committee, headed by Chief Iyabo Apampa, with Yemi Akinhonmi, Hon. Layi Taiwo, Semiu Babatunde and three others as members, conducted the congress, where Ogundele emerged.

    Ogundele also condemned the congress that returned the Dayo describing it as illegal. He said: “I’m saying this confidently that we are the authentic executives of the party in Ogun State. We are also recognised by the zonal (Southwest) body of the PDP. A stakeholder constituted by the party conducted our congress where I emerged chairman and that makes it legal and authentic.

    “We are on board to getting the lost glory of the party back. With what is happening in the state today, the PDP is capable of bouncing back to power in Ogun in 2019. After the election, we went back to the drawing board.

    “We found out that somebody has sort of commercialised the party and he gives the party tickets to whoever pleases him. We had a situation where two or more candidates got tickets for one elective office during the last general elections. Our members and supporters could not determine who the authentic candidate. This time, we resolved to stand up and challenge such shennanigans. We are the only one recognised by the zonal executives.

    “One person or camp cannot continue to disturb the progress of a party through court injunctions obtained at odd hours. The Illegal congress of the Kashamu group was held, so that they would put in place structures to commercialise who gets what, ahead of 2019. They tried it in 2011 and got away with it, because we did not challenge them. But, this is not the case now. We want to do things the right way, so as to return our party to power.”

    But, the Publicity Secretary of the Dayo- led executives, Bolaji Adeniji, exonerated Kashamu of any wrongdoing. He said there are no parallel executives in Ogun PDP except dissident groups brought about by the inordinate ambition of certain individuals within the party”.

    Adeniji urged Bankole, Adebutu and others to subsume their personal interests in the larger interest of Ogun PDP. He accused the latter of fragmenting the party because of his ambition to govern Ogun in 2019. He added that the federal lawmaker had not effectively demonstrated quality representation of his constitiency since he got to the National Assembly about a year ago.

    Adeniji said: “After 2015 general elections, the chapter was united as one. Everybody or group worked for the PDP, except the Bankole group, which chose to align with the APC. I think the architect of the balkanisation is Adebutu, who is nursing an ambition to be governor in 2019. He wants to seize the control of the party to win the ticket; that is why he is balkanising the party.

    “Senator Kashamu has been financing the party. He had earlier called on Adebutu and other groups to discuss the sharing formula for the party structure with them.  But, they proceeded to do their own thing out of ego and selfish interests. We have been talking to them on the need to swallow their pride and join the mainstream of the party. We will accommodate everybody’s interest. but, we don’t want the ambition of any person to scatter the party again.

    “Bankole’s problem is that of ego. We do not know what he wants or what his ambition is. It is indecipherable. They should come down from their high horse and join the mainstream. Our doors are opened for them.”

    Dayo, has however, pledged to bring all aggrieved members back to the fold and re-invigorate them for a successful outing in 2019. He described the trio of Bankole, Daniel and Ishola as people who were quite helpful to him and the party. He passionately appealed to them to return to their rightful political home.

    Can Ogun PDP be united? Will her parallel congresses and the attendant division end? Fatoki believes that they will settle their differences at the end of the day. But, the Labour Party (LP) believes the PDP has lost its potency and slipped into political irrelevance, because of the inordinate ambition of its leaders.

    The Acting Chairman of the LP in Ogun, Arabambi Abayomi, said the PDP is in a recession. He is also wondering if it would ever recover again. Arabambi said: “The PDP in Ogun State is faced with imminent destruction, as the party is gleefully sliding into political recession, due to lack of cohesion, absence of leadership capability, incompetence and inept political technique on the part of its leaders.

    “The PDP has ceased to be a viable opposition party to the ruling APC because of the expansionist tendencies, and the inordinate and crude ambition of its leaders in their bid to control the party structures.”

     

  • Ogun PDP: One chapter, three chairmen

    Ogun PDP: One chapter, three chairmen

    Inspite of efforts to close ranks, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State is yet to get its acts together. Correspondent ERNEST NWOKOLO examines the root of the crisis rocking the chapter and why it appears intractable.

    The crisis that rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), prior to the 2011 general elections was a major factor that propelled the All Progressives Congress (APC) to regain control of Ogun State. It was a proxy war between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Governor Gbenga Daniel over the control of the party. Obasanjo had insisted that former Sole Administrator of Ekiti State General Tunji Olurin should get the party’s ticket for the governorship. But, Daniel preferred the ex-Managing Director of the Gateway Holdings, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, for the role. At the end, the party became polarised, with the Daniel faction breaking away to contest the general elections on a different platform. The rest is history.

    The party re-united in the build-up to last year’s elections. The grouping brought together all the PDP factions and groups Daniel, Prince Buruji Kashamu, supporters of former Speaker Dimeji Bankole and ex-Minister Tunji Ishola came together to fight the ruling APC.

    But, the re-union did not endure. The cracks that were hurriedly mended for the sole purpose of returning to power became widened; with the gladiators pulling it apart in different directions. This became evident when the three major gladiators in the chapter conducted separate ward, local government and state congresses last month. The arrowheads of the battle were: Hon. Ladi Adebutu, who represents Remo North, Sagamu and Ikenne Constituencies at the House of Representatives; Senator Buruji Kashamu, who represents Ogun East District at the Senate; and Bankole, who hails from Ogun Central.

    The implication is that multiple chairmen and other officers emerged. Bayo Dayo was re-elected for the second term in the congress conducted at the party secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, by the Kashamu group, while Sikirulai Ogundele emerged Chairman in the Adebutu camp. The congress that produced Ogundele as the Chairman was conducted at the auditorium of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta. The Bankole faction had its congress at the Centennary Hall, Ake, Abeokuta, with Wale Egunleti emerging as the Chairman and Hon. Tolu Fatoki the Secretary.

    According to observers, the precursor to the parallel congresses is to be found in the emerging clash of interests towards the 2019 general elections, which is three years away.

    The Adebutu and the Bankole camp are not happy with the way and manner Kashamu is trying to take over the structures of the party. The senator emerged as the major financier of the party in 2011 when he took the structures from Daniel. Since the 2011 debacle, he has been determining – almost singlehandedly — who gets the PDP’s tickets for various elective offices, to the detriment of the party electorally.

    In the opinion of these camps, Kashamu appeared to be succeeding in his unilateral moves. Their argument is that, if they did not rise up now to challenge the ‘one-man-takes-all’ style of Kashamu, the electoral fortune of the chapter may dim the hope of capturing the state from the APC in 2019.

    Fatoki, the Secretary of the faction loyal to Bankole, said divergent interests were fuelling the internal rancour in the Ogun PDP. He noted that his camp obtained its nomination forms on which congresses were conducted from the national body in Abuja and that the crises are the handiwork of contending interests over the 2019 general elections. He said: “It is about interests; some people want to use their interest to overshadow that of the group. So, I do not rule out 2019 connection in the internal rancour in Ogun PDP.”

    As things stand today, the party is in disarray. No one is sure which group conducted the authentic congress or which set of executives is the authentic one. Each of the factions continues to lay claims to legitimacy and authenticity.

    But, as far as the party’s National Congress Committee Chairman for Ogun State, Mohammed El-Yakub, is concerned, there was no such thing called separate or parallel congresses, let alone parallel executives. He told reporters after the conclusion of the congress of the Kashamu-led faction that the Dayo-led executive is the authentic one.

    El-Yakub said based on the party’s constitution and guidelines for the congresses, the accreditation and voting took place at the designated centres approved by the National Working Committee (NWC), with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) observing the exercise.

    His words: “I am not aware of any parallel congress in Ogun, because we have designated centres and the congresses my committee monitored took place in those centres. Members of the committee monitored the exercise across the three senatorial districts and it was peaceful and smooth.

    “We carried all the members along and asked any intending contestant to approach the party secretariat to obtain forms. We gave everybody a level-playing ground and equal opportunity. What I know is that some people cannot consider themselves as having conducted authentic congress without nomination forms.”

    Few days to the congress, an ominous cloud had hovered over the party. Some chieftains had obtained an injunction from the High Court, in Abeokuta, ordering the chapter to put on hold, its planned ward, local, as well as the state congresses. The ex-parte motion for the order was brought before Justice Mobolaji Ojo. The chieftains got among other things, an order restraining the Dayo-led State Executive Committee from conducting or superintending the supervision of all the congresses.

    The chieftains, who filed the application, are: Wasiu Sanni, Alhaja Nike Odutola, Mr Semiu Babatunde, Semiu Adesanya and Elder Shola Soledolu. The defendants are: the PDP, INEC, Dayo and Semiu Sodipo, who emerged Secretary of the Kashamu group.

    According to the applicants, the tenure of the executive had lapsed last February, adding that Dayo lacked the power to conduct any congress or supervise it.

    Ogundele, the Chairman of the Adebutu faction, maintained that the officers produced are the authentic ones. The former elected Chairman of Ifo Local Government Council said theirs is the the constitutionally-recognised one and that it emerged to arrest the drift foisted on the party by the Dayo-led executives under the prompting of one man (Kashamu). He faulted congress that produced the Dayo-led executives, saying it was an exercise in futility, because it was founded on illegality.

    According to him, they had already gotten a court injunction, restraining the faction from conducting or supervising the congresses.

    The Stakeholders Committee was put in place by the party at the expiration of Bayo’s tenure on February 28. The committee, headed by Chief Iyabo Apampa, with Yemi Akinhonmi, Hon. Layi Taiwo, Semiu Babatunde and three others as members, conducted the congress, where Ogundele emerged.

    Ogundele also condemned the congress that returned the Dayo describing it as illegal. He said: “I’m saying this confidently that we are the authentic executives of the party in Ogun State. We are also recognised by the zonal (Southwest) body of the PDP. A stakeholder constituted by the party conducted our congress where I emerged chairman and that makes it legal and authentic.

    “We are on board to getting the lost glory of the party back. With what is happening in the state today, the PDP is capable of bouncing back to power in Ogun in 2019. After the election, we went back to the drawing board.

    “We found out that somebody has sort of commercialised the party and he gives the party tickets to whoever pleases him. We had a situation where two or more candidates got tickets for one elective office during the last general elections. Our members and supporters could not determine who the authentic candidate. This time, we resolved to stand up and challenge such shennanigans. We are the only one recognised by the zonal executives.

    “One person or camp cannot continue to disturb the progress of a party through court injunctions obtained at odd hours. The Illegal congress of the Kashamu group was held, so that they would put in place structures to commercialise who gets what, ahead of 2019. They tried it in 2011 and got away with it, because we did not challenge them. But, this is not the case now. We want to do things the right way, so as to return our party to power.”

    But, the Publicity Secretary of the Dayo- led executives, Bolaji Adeniji, exonerated Kashamu of any wrongdoing. He said there are no parallel executives in Ogun PDP except dissident groups brought about by the inordinate ambition of certain individuals within the party”.

    Adeniji urged Bankole, Adebutu and others to subsume their personal interests in the larger interest of Ogun PDP. He accused the latter of fragmenting the party because of his ambition to govern Ogun in 2019. He added that the federal lawmaker had not effectively demonstrated quality representation of his constitiency since he got to the National Assembly about a year ago.

    Adeniji said: “After 2015 general elections, the chapter was united as one. Everybody or group worked for the PDP, except the Bankole group, which chose to align with the APC. I think the architect of the balkanisation is Adebutu, who is nursing an ambition to be governor in 2019. He wants to seize the control of the party to win the ticket; that is why he is balkanising the party.

    “Senator Kashamu has been financing the party. He had earlier called on Adebutu and other groups to discuss the sharing formula for the party structure with them.  But, they proceeded to do their own thing out of ego and selfish interests. We have been talking to them on the need to swallow their pride and join the mainstream of the party. We will accommodate everybody’s interest. but, we don’t want the ambition of any person to scatter the party again.

    “Bankole’s problem is that of ego. We do not know what he wants or what his ambition is. It is indecipherable. They should come down from their high horse and join the mainstream. Our doors are opened for them.”

    Dayo, has however, pledged to bring all aggrieved members back to the fold and re-invigorate them for a successful outing in 2019. He described the trio of Bankole, Daniel and Ishola as people who were quite helpful to him and the party. He passionately appealed to them to return to their rightful political home.

    Can Ogun PDP be ever united? Or will her parallel congresses and the attendant division end? Fatoki believes that they will settle their differences at the end of the day. But, the Labour Party (LP) believes the PDP has lost its potency and slipped into political irrelevance, because of the inordinate ambition of its leaders.

    The Acting Chairman of the LP in Ogun, Arabambi Abayomi said the PDP is in a recession. He is also wondering if it would ever recover again. Arabambi said: “The PDP in Ogun State is faced with imminent destruction, as the party is gleefully sliding into political recession, due to lack of cohesion, absence of leadership capability, incompetence and inept political technique on the part of its leaders.

    “The PDP has ceased to be a viable opposition party to the ruling APC, because of the expansionist tendencies, inordinate and crude ambition of its leaders in their bid to control the party structures.”

     

  • Sheriff remains our leader – Ogun PDP

    Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it recognises the party’s national leadership headed by Ali Modu Sheriff and will not support the national caretaker committee led by Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State.

    The party said it also stands by rule of law on the matter, adding that the Port-Harcourt national convention of the party remains suspended and invalid.

    In a communiqué issued on Thursday after its expanded state executive committee meeting held on Wednesday in Abeokuta, Ogun state, and signed by its Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Adeniji, PDP noted that two separate court orders barred the conduct of elections into three offices and 18 others respectively.

    The party said the national chairman postponed the convention on the basis of the court order.

    Citing article 33 of the PDP constitution (as amended 2012), the party declared in the communiqué declared that “no convention of PDP can stand without the presence and convocation of same by the national chairman.”

    The communiqué reads, “The gathering in Abuja and a caretaker committee purportedly constituted on the Port-Harcourt convention ground after the chairman’s press briefing (suspending the convention) is ‘ultra vires, illegal, null and void and of no binding effect.

    “Ogun PDP clearly stands by the rule of law and consequently, we support the National Working Committee, under the leadership of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff.

    “The aborted Port-Harcourt national convention of our party remains suspended and invalid. Two separate court orders barred the conduct of elections into three offices and 18 offices respectively and for this reason, the National Chairman postponed the convention; making it ‘fait accompli’. Subject to article 33 of the PDP constitution (as amended 2012), no convention of our party can stand without the presence and convocation of same by the national chairman.”

  • ‘We’ll floor Ogun PDP at tribunal’

    ‘We’ll floor Ogun PDP at tribunal’

    The former Director-General of the Amosun Campaign Organisation, Chief Bode Mustapha, is the former National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview with Assistant Editor Bola Olajuwon, he speaks about the victory of Governor Ibikunle Amosun, his relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and why he joined the APC.

    As the Director-General of the Amosun Campaign Organisation, what is your comment on the success of the APC in the general election, especially in Ogun State?

    I think that came about because we had a governor who was performing. It’s like a salesman who has a good product to sell, and when you have a good product to market, it makes the job easy. Secondly, our campaign was grassroots-based, not elitist. We campaigned in 236 wards and over 300 different locations to showcase what we have done and present what we would do in the rural areas, to show that development has started in the urban areas and is moving to the rural areas. So, that made the difference in the campaign.

    I can also tell you that even some of the House of Assembly seats that we lost, we found out that there were over-voting and manipulations. As such, we are challenging some of them at the tribunal and we are sure we are going to win. Although with the new electoral law, there would be no possibility of declaring anybody as the winner. We will have to go for election again and that will also include the Ogun East Senatorial District.

    We are dealing with a person called Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who knows exactly what he wants to do from day one when he came into the office, and has been following that to the letter. Just like he knows what he wants to do over the next four years, to turn Ogun State into an Eldorado. So, the campaign was not too much of a difficult for us, because we had a good product to sell.

    Initially, did you have any fear that the governor might not win with the hurdle posed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

    I never had any fear. The reason being that Amosun came in 2011 as a grassroots man; people wanted him. Of course, you would not try to discountenance the Chief Olusegun Osoba factor. But then, by time Amosun became governor, he became his own man. He was delivering on dividends of democracy and his promises to the electorate. The fact that he was delivering, I have no fear at all that he would win.

    How do you think the state can leverage on the APC victory for the overall development of the state?

    First of all, for the last four years, the governor has been practically squeezing water out of stone to create development. Just like China, because of their population and to keep their people in work, developmental projects are always ongoing. Because that is when the dealer in cement will sell, the carpenter will work, the artisans will work, the masons will work, the supplier of sand will supply and the supplier of granite will be in business. Development has a way of creating a multiplier effect on the entire population and society. Don’t forget that for the last 18 months or thereabouts, what was coming from the Federation Account was not even enough to pay salaries and wages in Ogun State. But with his ingenuity, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state rose from about N600 to N700 million in a month to about N6 billion. He is responsible for the developmental project he is doing. Now, he has his other plans. He has just signed an agreement for inter and intra rail system. The reason is simple: if there is no rail system in transportation, how do farmers bring their wares to the market? I remembered that maybe six to seven years ago, I went to a place called Guangzhou in China; it took us about six hours to get there from Shanghai. Two years ago, I went to the same place. It took us two and an half hours. What happened? They have provided a train system that went over large expanse of water. When you have transportation, rural integration and rural development becomes a gain. I am sure that with a rail system in place, Governor Amosun will turn Ogun State into an Eldorado. I have no doubt in my mind about that.

    Having achieved your set objectives as the head of the campaign organisation, what is your next line of action?

    I have a project I am running, I have my office. I will go back to my business. I am into consultancy and mining, and this takes a lot of my time. I am already in my business.

    Do you have any fear about the PDP winning at the tribunal?

    No way. Why should I have any fear, the minority will always have a say and the majority will have their way. They are going to tribunal in exercise of their fundamental human rights and we are also going to the tribunal on the senatorial seat in Ogun East. By the time we all come back from the tribunal, we would know who has rigged and who has not rigged. We welcome the development, because once we win at the tribunal for the governorship, we will win the petition on the senatorial election. It will show that the APC won squarely in Ogun State. If not for rigging and manipulation, we won’t have lost Ogun East Senatorial District. We welcome that development.

    What is your hope from the tribunal?

    We would win. In the case of Ogun East, once we win at the tribunal, we would be told to go back for election for a re-run and we would win.

    You are seen as Obasanjo faithful and a former PDP member. How do you see your transformation from a PDP member into APC faithful and Amosun Campaign’s director-general?

    Well, first of all, like I always say to people, my political party is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. So, if you found me in APC, there must have been a reason for me going to the party. Why would I continue to stay with the PDP in which I was maltreated and injustice was meted out on me? I won at the convention, as the National Secretary of the party; I was nominated, I was voted for and some people went to procure a court judgment to favour the person who did not even obtain nomination form for the office of the National Auditor. I made appeal to the leader of the party, and he turned deaf ears. And I said to myself, what am I doing in a party where injustice is the order of the day? Remember, the same thing was done also to Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as National Secretary. The three of us, including former Governor Segun Oni, they called us Obasanjo boys, and we are proud to be Obasanjo boys and we remain Obasanjo boys for life. So, we have to move on. We started the New PDP with other members who didn’t like what was happening. But they used the powers of government to hunt us all over the place, and we thought of what next to do. Then, we joined the APC. Whether we were of any value while in PDP, it has come out glaringly. At that time, I used to have one slogan I reiterated to everybody. It was a very interesting Yoruba phrase, which says kato kini, kato rini, odabo oja (translating to: We shall know the winner after the contest). Whether we had any value or not, we can see the difference now. Even the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu, talked about injustice in PDP, which means that PDP was a party of injustice. Maybe now that they have learnt their lessons, they would pick up their pieces and form a formidable opposition party. I also hope they will stop meting out injustice to other people.

    How do you see yourself as an Obasanjo faithful and an APC faithful?

    You see, before Obasanjo talks, he thinks. He sees, he foresees and he doesn’t talk before he thinks. He thinks before he acts and he sees things that we don’t see. That’s what God has blessed him with. If he tells me tomorrow to leave the APC for any reason, I would not ask him why; I would leave, because my loyalty is to him. As a person, he is a state man, he is no longer in any party; he has risen above partisan politics. He is a father of the nation and Africa. If tomorrow he sees APC derailing and he advises and they don’t take it, if he says to me: ‘Bode Mustapha quit politics’. I would quit politics. Because whatever advice or instruction he gives, is always in our own best interest. So, he is not a difficult person; just a principled person, who has the interest of Nigeria at heart all the time. You can say what you like about him, whatever he says always comes to pass. As far as am concerned, Obasanjo is the man.

    Do you see him going back to the PDP?

    I wouldn’t know. Why should he go to any party? He doesn’t need any party. Once General Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in, he would be second person after Chief Obasanjo who has nothing that he would be looking for in Nigeria and who has no elective office that he would be looking for in Nigeria. Already, they are saying in PDP that in 2019, President Jonathan would run again; he can run a second term. But once General Buhari is sworn in, he goes into the league. Chief Obasanjo and Buhari have nothing they want to look for in Nigeria no more and no office to occupy. As such, why should he remain in any party?

    As a past lawmaker, what was your experience in the House of Representatives?

    It was a wonderful experience. I can see now that they are organising a course for new legislators to learn. We had that privilege in 1999, and as such, we knew the rudiments of making laws, we knew what were our responsibilities to the electorate and to the government, and to the party. We knew we had to draw the line and so, it made lawmaking an easy job for me. I would rather always be a lawmaker than be a governor, because I enjoy listening to debates in the House, especially when the debate is very robust.

    With the seriousness that people attach to lawmaking, what is your advice to the incoming APC leadership and lawmakers?

    It is very simple: make laws that would make life more abundant for the electorates. When you are elected into office, you are elected to serve, not to boss, and the interest of the electorates should be foremost on your minds. Now, the electorates are getting more educated and enlightened in Nigeria. If you don’t perform, they would vote you out in about four years. Can you imagine a situation where sitting governors who have governed over a whole state wanting to go to Senate – one-third of the state – and they lost the election? That tells you that the people are now very aware. Those elected should ensure good lawmaking, represent the people well, ensures that there is a connect between them and the people that voted them in, seek their inputs into whatever they are doing at National Assembly and carry them along. Then, you would always be their person.

    Who can you project that has the ability of delivering when it comes to leadership in the two houses of the National Assembly?

    All the APC contestants can deliver.

     

     

     

  • ‘We’ll floor Ogun PDP at tribunal’

    ‘We’ll floor Ogun PDP at tribunal’

    The former Director-General of the Amosun Campaign Organisation, Chief Bode Mustapha, is the Bobagunwa of Egbaland, a close ally of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party. In this interview with ASSISTANT EDITOR, Bola Olajuwon, he spoke on why Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the All Progressives Congress (APC) won in the state and his relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and how he joined the APC.  He said the APC will defeat PDP at the tribunal.

    As the Director-General of the Amosun Campaign Organisation, what is your comment on the success of the APC in the general election, especially in Ogun State?

    I think that came about because we had a governor who was performing. It’s like a salesman who has a good product to sell, and when you have a good product to market, it makes the job easy. Secondly, our campaign was grassroots-based, not elitist. We campaigned in 236 wards and over 300 different locations to showcase what we have done and present what we would do in the rural areas, to show that development has started in the urban areas and is moving to the rural areas. So, that made the difference in the campaign.

    I can also tell you that even some of the House of Assembly seats that we lost, we found out that there were over-voting and manipulations. As such, we are challenging some of them at the tribunal and we are sure we are going to win. Although with the new electoral law, there would be no possibility of declaring anybody as the winner. We will have to go for election again and that will also include the Ogun East Senatorial District.

    We are dealing with a person called Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who knows exactly what he wants to do from day one when he came into the office, and has been following that to the letter. Just like he knows what he wants to do over the next four years, to turn Ogun State into an Eldorado. So, the campaign was not too much of a difficult for us, because we had a good product to sell.

    Initially, did you have any fear that the governor might not win with the hurdle posed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

    I never had any fear. The reason being that Amosun came in 2011 as a grassroots man; people wanted him. Of course, you would not try to discountenance the Chief Olusegun Osoba factor. But then, by time Amosun became governor, he became his own man. He was delivering on dividends of democracy and his promises to the electorate. The fact that he was delivering, I have no fear at all that he would win.

    How do you think the state can leverage on the APC victory for the overall development of the state?

    First of all, for the last four years, the governor has been practically squeezing water out of stone to create development. Just like China, because of their population and to keep their people in work, developmental projects are always ongoing. Because that is when the dealer in cement will sell, the carpenter will work, the artisans will work, the masons will work, the supplier of sand will supply and the supplier of granite will be in business. Development has a way of creating a multiplier effect on the entire population and society. Don’t forget that for the last 18 months or thereabouts, what was coming from the Federation Account was not even enough to pay salaries and wages in Ogun State. But with his ingenuity, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state rose from about N600 to N700 million in a month to about N6 billion. He is responsible for the developmental project he is doing. Now, he has his other plans. He has just signed an agreement for inter and intra rail system. The reason is simple: if there is no rail system in transportation, how do farmers bring their wares to the market? I remembered that maybe six to seven years ago, I went to a place called Guangzhou in China; it took us about six hours to get there from Shanghai. Two years ago, I went to the same place. It took us two and an half hours. What happened? They have provided a train system that went over large expanse of water. When you have transportation, rural integration and rural development becomes a gain. I am sure that with a rail system in place, Governor Amosun will turn Ogun State into an Eldorado. I have no doubt in my mind about that.

    Having achieved your set objectives as the head of the campaign organisation, what is your next line of action?

    I have a project I am running, I have my office. I will go back to my business. I am into consultancy and mining, and this takes a lot of my time. I am already in my business.

    Do you have any fear about the PDP winning at the tribunal?

    No way. Why should I have any fear, the minority will always have a say and the majority will have their way. They are going to tribunal in exercise of their fundamental human rights and we are also going to the tribunal on the senatorial seat in Ogun East. By the time we all come back from the tribunal, we would know who has rigged and who has not rigged. We welcome the development, because once we win at the tribunal for the governorship, we will win the petition on the senatorial election. It will show that the APC won squarely in Ogun State. If not for rigging and manipulation, we won’t have lost Ogun East Senatorial District. We welcome that development.

    What is your hope from the tribunal?

    We would win. In the case of Ogun East, once we win at the tribunal, we would be told to go back for election for a re-run and we would win.

    But sir, you are seen as Obasanjo faithful and a former PDP member. How do you see your transformation from a PDP member into APC faithful and Amosun Campaign’s director-general?

    Well, first of all, like I always say to people, my political party is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. So, if you found me in APC, there must have been a reason for me going to the party. Why would I continue to stay with the PDP in which I was maltreated and injustice was meted out on me? I won at the convention, as the National Secretary of the party; I was nominated, I was voted for and some people went to procure a court judgment to favour the person who did not even obtain nomination form for the office of the National Auditor. I made appeal to the leader of the party, and he turned deaf ears. And I said to myself, what am I doing in a party where injustice is the order of the day? Remember, the same thing was done also to Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as National Secretary. The three of us, including former Governor Segun Oni, they called us Obasanjo boys, and we are proud to be Obasanjo boys and we remain Obasanjo boys for life. So, we have to move on. We started the New PDP with other members who didn’t like what was happening. But they used the powers of government to hunt us all over the place, and we thought of what next to do. Then, we joined the APC. Whether we were of any value while in PDP, it has come out glaringly. At that time, I used to have one slogan I reiterated to everybody. It was a very interesting Yoruba phrase, which says kato kini, kato rini, odabo oja (translating to: We shall know the winner after the contest). Whether we had any value or not, we can see the difference now. Even the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu, talked about injustice in PDP, which means that PDP was a party of injustice. Maybe now that they have learnt their lessons, they would pick up their pieces and form a formidable opposition party. I also hope they will stop meting out injustice to other people.

    How do you see yourself as an Obasanjo faithful and an APC faithful?

    You see, before Obasanjo talks, he thinks. He sees, he foresees and he doesn’t talk before he thinks. He thinks before he acts and he sees things that we don’t see. That’s what God has blessed him with. If he tells me tomorrow to leave APC for any reason, I would not ask him why; I would leave, because my loyalty is to him. As a person, he is a state man, he is no longer in any party; he has risen above partisan politics. He is a father of the nation and Africa. If tomorrow he sees APC derailing and he advises and they don’t take it, if he says to me: ‘Bode Mustapha quit politics’. I would quit politics. Because whatever advice or instruction he gives, is always in our own best interest. So, he is not a difficult person; just a principled person, who has the interest of Nigeria at heart all the time. You can say what you like about him, whatever he says always comes to pass. As far as am concerned, Obasanjo is the man.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Do you see him going back to the PDP?

    I wouldn’t know. Why should he go to any party? He doesn’t need any party. Once General Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in, he would be second person after Chief Obasanjo who has nothing that he would be looking for in Nigeria and who has no elective office that he would be looking for in Nigeria. Already, they are saying in PDP that in 2019, President Jonathan would run again; he can run a second term. But once General Buhari is sworn in, he goes into the league. Chief Obasanjo and Buhari have nothing they want to look for in Nigeria no more and no office to occupy. As such, why should he remain in any party?

    As a past lawmaker, what was your experience in the House of Representatives?

    It was a wonderful experience. I can see now that they are organising a course for new legislators to learn. We had that privilege in 1999, and as such, we knew the rudiments of making laws, we knew what were our responsibilities to the electorate and to the government, and to the party. We knew we had to draw the line and so, it made lawmaking an easy job for me. I would rather always be a lawmaker than be a governor, because I enjoy listening to debates in the House, especially when the debate is very robust.

    With the seriousness that people attach to lawmaking, what is your advice to the incoming APC leadership and lawmakers?

    It is very simple: make laws that would make life more abundant for the electorates. When you are elected into office, you are elected to serve, not to boss, and the interest of the electorates should be foremost on your minds. Now, the electorates are getting more educated and enlightened in Nigeria. If you don’t perform, they would vote you out in about four years. Can you imagine a situation where sitting governors who have governed over a whole state wanting to go to Senate – one-third of the state – and they lost the election? That tells you that the people are now very aware. Those elected should ensure good lawmaking, represent the people well, ensures that there is a connect between them and the people that voted them in, seek their inputs into whatever they are doing at National Assembly and carry them along. Then, you would always be their person.

    Who can you project that has the ability of delivering when it comes to leadership in the two houses of the National Assembly?

    All the APC contestants can deliver.

     

     

  • Ogun PDP withdraws contempt charge against Bankole, Daniel

    Ogun PDP withdraws contempt charge against Bankole, Daniel

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday struck out the contempt charge filed against a former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole and former Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel.

    It followed the withdrawal of the applications for their committal to prison by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede.

    The plaintiffs, led by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Ogun State, Adebayo Dayo, are alleging that the respondents had been attempting to remove them from office, thereby following g a judgment by the Federal High Court affirming the legality of their positions.

    However, counsel for Bankole and Daniel, Mr. Afolabi Fashanu (SAN) and Prof Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), prayed the court to dismiss the contempt case since they had joined issues, rather than strike it out

    This is because if a court action is struck out, it can be re-filed and started afresh, but if dismissed, the loser’s only option will be to go on appeal.

    Arguing that the case be struck out, Osipitan said prior leave of court was not obtained before Daniel was named as an alleged contemnor.

    “A person like Daniel who was not a party to a judgment cannot be an alleged contemnor without prior leave of court being granted to commence contempt proceedings against such as person,” he said.

    Dr. Yemi Oke, Counsel for a PDP chief who was also accused of contempt, Dave Salako, argued that the appropriate order to make is to dismiss the suit, not strike it out “to prevent further harassment.”

    But Oluyede said contempt proceedings are independent of the case they derive from and not interlocutory, therefore, he can discontinue the charge without consequences.

    He added that the alleged contemnors did not join issues on the merit of the case in any of the contempt applications.

    “Issues cannot be joined on the merit by preliminary objection. We’re well within our right to unilaterally discontinue or withdraw the applications,” Oluyede said.
    Besides, he said in a criminal contempt case, the court’s leave is not required first.

  • Ogun PDP: Court strikes out Bankole’s suit

    Ogun PDP: Court strikes out Bankole’s suit

    A State High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Friday threw out an application challenging the delegates’ list of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state for lack of jurisdiction.

    Delivering his judgment, Justice N.O Durojaiye maintained that the list under contention can only be determined by the party since the matter at hand fall within its purview.

    Six members of the party believed to be loyal to former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, led by one Ganiu Mustapha, approached the court to challenge the delegates’ list compiled after the wards congresses conducted in the state on November 1.

    But the complainants through their counsels led by Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), argued that the party’s state executive council led by Engr. Bayo Dayo and Secretary, Semiu Sodipo, who are the 4th and 5th defendants were planning to substitute their names on the list.The party, its National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and the National Working Committee (NWC) were joined as 1st and 3rd defendants respectively.

    But counsel to the defendants led by Mr. B.A Oluyede, argued that the issue of the delegates’ list is an internal affair of the party.

    Justice Durojaiye held that the power to nominate delegates during primaries is an exclusive power vested with the party, adding that the court was constrained by limited jurisdiction to intervene in the matter.

    Citing Section 87 (10) of the Electoral Act, the judge maintained that the complaints bordered on pre-election matter and, as such, is vested on the party to determine.

    Justice Durojaiye, who also cited the case between PDP vs. Silva 2012, further explained that delegates’ lists is a ‘domestic right and discretion’ of the party.

    He submitted, “The power to nominate delegates during primaries is vested in political parties and a domestic affair of the party, and not even a court of law can determine that because the court has a limited jurisdiction.

    “Therefore, it is an internal affair of the party. I therefore hold that I lack jurisdiction to entertain this case and the case is hereby struck out.

    “Lack of jurisdiction, if raised and successful, brings proceedings to an end. This is because the court lacking jurisdiction cannot hear and determine the matter afterwards.

    “Jurisdiction is the life wire of a court as no court can entertain a matter where it lacks jurisdiction.

    “For the reasons stated above, I hold that this court lacks jurisdiction to entertain this case. This case is not justifiable and is accordingly struck out.”