From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Following the inauguration of a caretaker committee for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, the chairman of the dissolved exco in the state, Bayo Dayo, has described the inauguration as ‘nullity’ saying it could stand.
According to him, “the purported constitution of a caretaker committee for the state was not only laughable but ridiculous”.
Recall that the National Caretaker Committee of PDP had, on Tuesday, in Abuja, inaugurated a 28-member caretaker committee for the party in Ogun State. The committee was headed by Tunde Odoye from Osun State, while Ariyo Afolabi from Ekiti State was named Secretary.
Caretaker committees were also inaugurated for PDP in Borno and Kebbi states.
But in a release signed by Dayo on Thursday in Abeokuta, a copy obtained by our correspondent, he said the National Caretaker Committee acted in error despite several constitutional and legal correspondences to ensure the Committee acted rightly.
He recalled how his exco survived similar travails in 2011 and 2015 respectively, when the National Working Committee of PDP, ignored the rule of law and chose to accord recognition to ‘impostors’ as leaders of the party in Ogun State.
Dayo, who maintained the dissolution of the state exco was an act of illegality, however, expressed confidence that rule of law would eventually prevail as it prevailed in 2011 and 2015.
The statement reads in part: “For us in Ogun PDP, we have travelled this road on two consecutive occasions, 2011 with Abubakar Baraje and 2015 with Adamu Muazu as National chairmen respectively. On both occasions, the NWC refused to follow the rule of law but rather chose to accord recognition to impostors with pretensions to leadership of the party in Ogun State, due to lack of courage to follow the law or perhaps by inducement.
“Despite subsisting court judgements and status reports from all relevant authorities validating the legitimate executives at those periods, the NWC, opted to act contrary to the law. At the end, the rule of law prevailed on both occasions. At the moment, the Senator Ahmed Makarfi NWC acting on the illegal pronouncement of the National convention announced an indefensible dissolution of Ogun PDP executives.
“We will state for the umpteenth time and for the avoidance of doubt that the National caretaker committee lacks the powers to constitute a caretaker committee for Ogun State [in this instance] because the national convention, despite its apex powers over the party’s affairs, cannot be supreme to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; which through the judgement of a Federal High Court, has legitimised the state executive committee under my chairmanship.
“We have alerted all relevant authorities of this perfidious act and let it be told those who care to listen that not under our watch shall we allow the rule of law to be bastardized. Not under this regime shall impunity and illegality reign over constitutionality and legality. The action of the national leadership is a nullity and cannot stand the test of justice, equity and fairness”.