From: Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

The State Working Committee (SWC) and the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, on Wednesday, gave a seven day ultimatum to the embattled former chairman of the

party, Hon. Isaac Kekemeke to formally resign his appointment as the state chairman of the party or face legal action.

The two organs of the party, after reviewing the reports of the disciplinary committee set up to investigate allegations of negligence and anti party activities levelled against Kekemeke, found him guilty of the allegations and threatened to take stiffer action against him if he failed to resign his appointment within seven days.

This was even as the party directed Kekemeke to return all party’s properties and documents in his custody to the state secretariat of the party immediately.

The disciplinary committee headed by Prince Abayomi Adesanya had found Kekemeke guilty of gross misconduct and anti party activities, having established that the former party chairman worked for the Alliance for

Democracy (AD) in the November 26, 2016 governorship election held in the state.

Although Kekemeke did not appear before the committee, Adesanya said the committee relied on evidences presented before it by other party leaders who honoured its invitation including the acting chairman of the party, Mr Ade Adetimehin.

According to the report of the disciplinary committee, Kekemeke worked for the governorship candidate of the AD, Chief Olusola Oke before, during and after the governorship election, even as he was

instrumental to a case instituted by a governorship aspirant of the party, Mr. Olusegun Abraham.

The committee decried the attitude of Kekemeke to activities of the party since the assumption of office of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, just as it lamented the attitude exhibited by him (Kekemeke) when he was invited to appear before the committee.

Submitting the report to a joint meeting of the party’s SWC and SEC at the party’s secretariat in Akure, Adesanya alleged that Kekemeke beat some administrative staff of the party who delivered the committee’s

invitation letters to him, adding that “it is unthinkable that a person of Hon. Kekemeke status as a lawyer, a former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, former Attorney General of the state and former Secretary to Ondo State Government would act in such a barbaric manner as to instigate staff of his private law office to beat up party staff he personally employed when he was the state Chairman.”

He said “such conducts call to question the reasonability and

responsibility of such a man. It is indeed very appalling and a sad

commentary in our party history in the state. We wonder what Hon.

Kekemeke would lose by accepting the invitation letter and responding,

either in person or through his lawyer. He chose not to do this, but

to engage in crude and unrefined conduct not expected of a man of his

status in the society.”

The reports which was signed by the committee’s secretary and chairman

Messrs Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye and Abayomi Adesanya reads in part “the

Committee is satisfied with the uncontroverted pieces of evidence

given by the witnesses. The evidences were thorough, coherent,

straightforward, cogent, compelling and very convincing. The

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allegations of highhandedness, dereliction of duty and anti-party

activities were duly established by the witnesses. The Financial

Secretary gave copious pieces of evidence as to the financial

recklessness of Hon. Kekemeke.

“It was established beyond any shadow of doubt that Hon. Kekemeke

instigated and instructed members of the Party to work for Alliance

for Democracy in the November 26th, 2016 governorship election. His

inability to call State Working Committee (SWC) for almost a year is

an indication of his unwillingness to move the party forward. The

evidence that he was prepared to take on the state government is, to

say the least, very undeserving.

“The three man committee is therefore convinced and well satisfied

that Hon. Kekemeke is guilty of all the allegations of gross

misconduct, dereliction of duty, financial impropriety and anti-party

activities as given in the controverted evidences of the witnesses.

‘The allegations against Hon. Kekemeke have all been established

without controversy. The committee therefore finds him guilty of all

the allegations. However, the committee recommends, that in the spirit

of reconciliation and party unity, Hon. Kekemeke should be made to

resign within seven days (inclusive of the date of this report) as the

Chairman of APC in Ondo State. Where he fails, refuses, and neglects

to voluntarily resign within the time limit given above, his action or

inaction should be taken as removal from office, in pursuant to

Article 21(D)(i)(e) of the APC Constitution, October, 2014, as

amended.”