Ekiti PDP And Its Never-Ending Crisis

The crisis that rocked the Ekiti State branch of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has remained unresolved over the years, and the internal schism became more messy a few days ago after the National Working Committee (NWC) overturned the suspension of some candidates for the National Assembly and announced the dissolution of the State Executive Council. YOMI AYELESO examines the latest development and the effects it could have on the party’s chances in the February 25 elections.

Once again, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State is in the news for all the wrong reasons. This time, the National Working Committee (NWC) announced the suspension of seven of the nine National Assembly candidates for the February 25 elections and the dissolution of the party’s executive committee, bringing an outgoing committee on board to deal with the affairs of arrange the party.

The state’s PDP had been mired in a deep crisis since it lost power to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2018. This crisis led to the crushing defeat of 26 House of Representatives candidates and eight of the nine candidates of the National Assembly in the 2019 general election.

In 2020, due to the struggle for supremacy among the political gladiators, the party’s state congress ended in stalemate and dragged on for months in court, forcing the party’s then-national leadership under UcheSecondus to form a caretaker committee. chaired by an elder. statesman from the state of Oyo, Senator Hosea Agboola. The Agboola-led committee led the party for nearly a year and achieved little or nothing in bringing warring factions together.

The protracted crisis continued and culminated in the party’s dismal performance during the June 18 governorship in 2022. In the run-up to the election, some aggrieved members, including a former governor, Chief Segun Oni, had switched to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The results of the governorship poll showed the PDP coming in a distant third, behind the eventual winner, APC and the SDP coming in second.

In all the internal bickering and flexing within the party, a former governor, Ayodele Fayose, and the legislator representing Ekiti South, Senator Biodun Olujimi, were placed at the center of the crisis. While Fayose and his camp insisted on keeping the party’s structure, those in the Olujimi group opted for a collegiate form of leadership where a group of people rather than an individual would be the deciding factor in the party.

Just as there was a semblance of relative calm within the party following the governorship election, the upcoming 2023 general election has reignited the crisis in the state chapter. While the Fayose group that controlled the party submitted a list to the state’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) for the AtikuAbubakar/IfeanyiOkowa campaign, the other forces protested against it for alleged fear of sabotage.

After a series of back and forth, the AminuTambuwal-led PCC released the team for Ekiti State with some interest, especially those members of the party who worked for the SDP during the governorship poll. This decision by the party did not go down well with the Fayose camp, including the National Assembly candidates and former governor candidate BisiKolawole, who was named chairman of the PCC. They rejected the compilation and pledged not to participate in the presidential campaign leading up to the poll.

In what could be described as the last straw that broke the camel’s back, the Fayose group’s decision to avoid the party’s presidential campaign rally held in the state on Jan. angered the party. Speaking at the meeting, the National Chairman, Ayu, accused those he described as “enemy within and enemy without” of trying to sink the meeting.

As a clue to what to expect in the future, Ayu further stated that “this is the process of freeing the people of Ekiti and building the party. PDP is nobody’s property; it is not an individual party and we will ensure that it becomes a real people’s platform.”

Only Senator Biodun Olujimi who is vying for a third term in Ekiti South and Henrich Akomolafe, 30, vying for a seat in the House of Representatives (Ekiti South 1), attended the presidential meeting and were presented with the party’s flag hosted by Ayu.

Four days after the presidential campaign meeting, Ayu wielded the big stick by suspending the seven National Assembly candidates who avoided the meeting and also disbanding the state’s executive committee. The National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, who made the announcement in two separate press releases in quick succession on Friday evening, said the candidates had been suspended for alleged anti-party activities. In the same vein, he announced the creation of an 11-member caretaker committee to be chaired by a party leader from Ondo State, Sodiq Obanoyen, for the next three months.

According to the party, the suspended candidates included Senate candidates, Lateef Ajijola (Ekiti Central) and Funsho Ayeni (Ekiti North) in addition to five candidates for the House of Representatives; Yinka Akerele (Ekiti North 1), Babatunde Ajayi (Ekiti North 2), Lere Olayinka (Ekiti Central 2), Joju Fayose (Ekiti Central 1) and Ms. Emiola Adenike Jennifer (Ekiti South 2).

But in a quick response, these candidates, who are Fayose loyalists, rejected the NWC’s suspension, saying the party had violated the principle of fair hearing by not inviting them to defend themselves against the allegations.

In a joint statement, the candidates said: “We have never been made aware of any wrongdoing. They have not told us our offense so that we can defend ourselves as stipulated in the party’s constitution and the Constitution of Nigeria. Article 57(6) of the PDP Constitution is clear and unambiguous. It reads: “Any decision taken against a member who has not been informed of the allegations against him or who has not been given any opportunity to defend himself is null and void.”

“Also Article 33 of the Electoral Act is very clear about candidates for election and as it stands, we will continue to run candidates in accordance with the law and we will remain focused. Our party is a constitutional institution and we will ensure that it adheres to its constitution.

“To be clear, Section 33 of the Electoral Act clearly states that; “A political party shall not be permitted to change or replace its nominee whose name has been submitted under Section 29 of this Act, except in the event of the nominee’s death or withdrawal.”

“So we are imperturbable. On the contrary, we are being pushed to work harder to ensure victory in the elections as we look for appropriate ways to deal with the problems. In the end it will be a victory for us as candidates of the PDP.”

Also acting chairman LanreOmolase, in his response to the dissolution of the state executives, described the party’s decision as a futile exercise, noting that he remained the chairman of the party until the court ruled otherwise.

According to him, “I want to say, proclaim and declare that I am still the acting chairman of the PDP in Ekiti and only the court can say otherwise. My position as acting chairman is as dictated by a court of competent jurisdiction, and the court order is still in effect.

“The position of the court is that nothing should be done regarding the state presidency of the PDP in Ekiti until the final decision is made in a lawsuit filed when two individuals claimed the presidency of the party. Aside from the fact that there is an existing court order supporting my position, the National Work Commission does not also have the authority to fire duly elected Exco members of the party at any level.

“I also condemn the alleged suspension of the party’s National Assembly candidates and wish to state that the candidates were nowhere invited to defend themselves, virtually dictated by the principle of fair hearing.”

While providing insight into the genesis of the crisis, Omolase said: “Our complaint was about the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in which members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) were given favorable positions.

“Our position was that the SDP has National Assembly candidates whose elections will be held on the same day as the president’s, and the party is only interested in funding its candidates with resources from the PDP. Letters were written, even to the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, but nothing happened.

“Only two of the nine National Assembly candidates were involved for the campaign rally. Even I, as acting chairman, was completely ignored. It therefore strikes me as funny and laughable that NWC, which did not visit Ekiti during the last gubernatorial election, is now angry that we did not attend a presidential meeting that we were never involved in planning.

About 30 days before the February 25 elections, stakeholders inside and outside the party believe that the ongoing unrest would negatively affect the PDP’s chances in the state, particularly the presidential election. While some political observers disagree with the party’s leadership on the timing of the decisions, others believe that the suspension and dissolution should have been appropriate and long if the party is to perform well in the state’s elections.

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