The crisis rocking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State chapter took a new twist on Wednesday as both the State Working Committee (SWC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) disagreed on the suspension of Fatai Adams as Chairman of the party in the state.
The NWC stated that the suspension of Adams by the nine members of the SWC is null and void and will subsequently have no effect.
The state chairman of the party was suspended on Tuesday by the executives of the party in the state over alleged anti-party activities.
Also, Adams had earlier stated that he was still the chairman of the party in the state, emphasising that his purported suspension was politically motivated.
In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, the NWC stated that the suspension was not in tandem with provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) and laid down rules.
Ologunagba further stressed that the SWC lacked the power to contemplate or suspend a state chairman without due recourse to the NWC, as stipulated in the constitution of the party.
While disclosing that the NWC will not hesitate to take action against the development, he urged the SWC members to retrace their steps.
“The PDP is an organised political party governed by strict adherence to the provisions of its Constitution and Rules and will not allow any individual or group at any level to violate its Constitution and Rules.”
On its part, the SWC stated that contrary to the position of the NWC on the decision to suspend Adams, all levels of the party have powers to discipline erring members of the executive, whether at the ward, local government, state, or zonal levels.
While describing the statement of the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on behalf of the NWC as embarrassing, the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Kennedy Peretei, said that he is ignorant of the constitution of the party as well as what is happening within the party in the state.
“The State Chairman, Fatai Adams, is a member of the State Working Committee and can therefore be sanctioned in the face of his activities with flagrant disregard for SWC decisions. To this end, the suspension of Fatai Adams remains.
“Unfortunately, Hon. Ologunagba, who is from Ondo State, appears not to have up-to-date information about the party in Ondo State. If he had, he would have been the last person to issue such a misleading statement.
“Nine out of the eleven State Working Committee (SWC) members signed the suspension letter. That alone is a confirmation that Fatai Adams has overstayed his usefulness as State Chairman.”
