The Peoples Democratic Party under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has suspended key members of the New PDP.
Among those suspended by the Tukur leadership are the National Chairman of the nPDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje; the National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and the National Vice Chairman of the faction, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja.
Oyinlola, sequel to the ruling of the Court of Appeal, was to resume as the National Secretary of the Tukur faction of the party on Monday.
However, after several hours of meeting on Monday, the Tukur faction of the party pronounced Oyinlola and his co-travellers suspended for engaging in anti-party activities.
More details soon.
Update:
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party rose from its meeting, presided over by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, on Monday, suspending indefinitely all the key actors of the splinter group christened the New PDP.
Those affected by this decision, according to the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisah Metuh, are Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Ibrahim Kazaure and other members of the nPDP NWC and key actors.
However, Metuh said the seven aggrieved governors, known as G7, are not affected by the suspension.
Despite the fact that Prince Oyinlola has been reinstated by the Court of Appeal as the authentic National Secretary of the PDP, he did not show up at Wadata House as expected.
Suspecting that there could be breakdown of law and order, security operatives, consisting of armed policemen and men of the Department of State Security, were deployed to man strategic points within and around the Wadata House, which houses the PDP national secretariat.
Every visitor to the secretariat was thoroughly searched with a view to ensuring that only those who have genuine businesses there were allowed to go in.
Metuh explained further that those suspended have breached the party’s constitution by pitching their tents with a splinter group, the new PDP.
He, however, hastened to add that the suspension should not be seen as an attempt to ridicule the Court of Appeal judgement or pre-empt the outcome of the appeal filed by the party at the Supreme Court.
He also said that PDP has not been served with the court judgement and so it will even be wrong of him to make any comment on it.
The spokesperson anchored the suspension of the party stalwarts on flagrant violation of Section 58 (1) A to J.
The section of the party constitution quoted reads: “58.(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Party shall have power to discipline any member who: (a) Commits any breach of the Party’s Constitution, and or Manifesto; (b) Says or does anything likely to bring the party into disrepute, hatred or contempt; (c) Disobeys or neglects to carry out lawful directives of the party or any organ or officer of the party; (d) Engages in dishonest practices, defrauds the party, its members or officials; (e) Is persistently absent from meetings or other official duties; (f) Engages in anti-party activities; (g) Engages in disorderly conduct at meetings or rallies or at any party function; (h) Engages in any conduct likely to cause disaffection among members of the party or is likely to disrupt the peaceful, lawful and efficient conduct of the business of the party; (i) Engages in unauthorised publicity of disputes within the party or creates a parallel party organ at any level; (j) Promotes factions or belongs to any group under the guise of the party and by whatever name called, not being one provided for in this constitution.”
Metuh added: “We have witnessed an attempt at political identity theft where some unknown people, our brothers who are aggrieved, will collude with some known individuals to attempt an identity theft, where some people will claim your name, your birth date, your job, your complete identity, that has failed, the court has pronounced on it.
“We have countlessly appealed to our brothers that these is not a production of drama or a production of Nollywood movies.
“This is a serious matter.
“It is a party administration.
“The NWC, in line with its constitutional right and the provisions of the constitution and after preliminary hearings as stated in our Constitution, suspended forthwith from the PDP the following: Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Sam Sam Jaja, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Ibrahim Kazaure.
“The suspension of these four members of the National Executive Committee because of their past position in the party, past and present, wherein they are members of the national and according to our Constitution it is only the national that can make pronouncement on it is for breach of Section 58 1b, g, h and i.
“The provision of our constitution stated that anyone who talks or says anything likely to bring the party, the PDP, into disrepute, hatred or contempt has committed a disciplinary offence.
“Anyone who engages in disorderly conduct at meetings or rallies, at any party function, including walkout at conventions, taking a walkout, engaging in disorderly conduct is guilty of an offence against that constitution.”
Metuh said the names of the suspended members would be forwarded to the party’s disciplinary committee for further disciplinary actions.
Reacting, Prince Oyinlola posited that the suspension placed on them was tantamount to an attempt to circumvent the judgement given last Wednesday by the Court of Appeal.
He said: “This is part of the impunity we are protesting against.
“None of us has been queried or requested to give explanations for any alleged offence.
“And if they are reacting to the issue of the new PDP, why did they decide to leave out the serving state governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives who have been very vocal?
“It’s all an attempt to circumvent the ruling of the Court of Appeal.
“Certainly, the last has not been heard about this matter and I am sure that truth will prevail over falsehood.”