Thursday, 21 November 2013

PDP tackles Baraje, Oyinlola, Jaja, others afresh

The national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, summoned erstwhile national secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to appear before the
Alhaji Umaru Dikko-led Disciplinary Committee next
Wednesday.

Oyinlola was, penultimate Wednesday, re-instated as National
Secretary of the party through a judgment by an Appeal Court
sitting in Abuja.

Also to appear before the committee are chairman of the
splinter group of the party, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje;
the group's Deputy Chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; and
National Vice-Chairman of the party, North-West,
Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure.

It will be recalled that Oyinlola was suspended last week
alongside Alhaji Baraje, Dr. Jaja and Ambassador Kazaure
by the Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee,
NWC.

Baraje, Oyinlola, Jaja and Kazaure

According to a statement by the Disciplinary Committee
secretary who is also the party's deputy National Secretary,
Onwe Solomon Onwe, the affected persons will appear on
Wednesday, November 27, at the PDP Presidential Cam-paign
Office, Legacy House, Maitama, Abuja by 12 noon.

The Disciplinary Committee in the statement said: "The
National Disciplinary Committee of our great party has
received from the National Working Committee cases of anti-
party activities against the following: Alhaji Abubakar Kawu
Baraje; Dr. Sam Sam Jaja; Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and
Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure.

'Crimes'

"The alleged grounds are: On August 31, 2013 at the Special
National Convention of the party at the Eagle Square, Abuja,
the above mentioned persons and others staged a walk-out in a
manner contrary to Section 58 (1) (b) (g) and (h) of the
Constitution;

"On September 2, 2013, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, Dr. Sam Sam
Jaja and Prince Olagun-soye Oyinlola filed suit No.

ID/704/2013 against the legitimate party leadership at the
High Court of Lagos State without first pursuing the internal
remedies of the party contrary to Section 58(1) (L) of the
Constitution;

"Since August 31, 2013, the persons mentioned above have
granted interviews and made statements in the print and
electronic media not only disparaging the National Chairman
and other national leaders of the party, but also unduly
publicising disputes/differences within the party, even in the
face of the great restraint demonstrated by the National
Chairman and other national leaders against whom their
calumny is targeted; this, clearly, contravenes Section 58(1)

(i) of the Constitution;
"On September 1 and 23, 2013, Prince Olagunsoye Oyin-lola
wrote two letters to INEC requesting the Commission to
recognise the persons above mentioned as the National
Working Committee of the party, even in the face of the
National Convention held March 24, 2012 and August 31,
2013.

"This, also clearly, contra-venes Section 58(1)(b) (h)(i) and

(j) of the Constitution of the Party;

"Since August 31, 2013, the above mentioned persons have
consistently maintained that they are of the "New PDP
(nPDP), thereby promoting factionali-sation of the party, and
in doing so, recruiting to their ranks members of the party in
the National Assembly contrary to Section 58(1)(b)(i) and (j)
of the Constitution.
Summons

"In keeping with Section 57(4) of the Peoples Democratic
Party Constitution, the National Disciplinary Committee has
since informed the affected persons of the allegations.

"They are invited to present their own side of the issues
before the National Discipli-nary Committee. The affected
persons may wish to present their cases orally or in writing
either in person or through a counsel of their choice. They
may also wish to call witnesses."

The party's Disciplinary Committee, headed by Second
Republic Minister of Transport, Dr. Umaru Dikko, has former
Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope as Deputy,
with former Deputy National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji
Shuaibu Oyedokun; Hajia Nana Aisha Kadiri; Publisher of
Champion Newspapers, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; Mr.
Hussaini Duraki Kazaer as members.

PDP Deputy National Secretary, Onwe Solomon Onwe, will
serve as secretary.

Oyinlola reacts

Meanwhile, Prince Olagun-soye Oyinlola said, yesterday, that
he will not appear before the Dikko-led committee.

He argued that he was not aware of the composition of any
Disciplinary Committee by the party against the backdrop that
constitutionally, a committee of such must be ratified by the
National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party, just as he
vowed that his persecutors will fail.

Oyinlola said: "I wish to re-assert that I will never
compromise illegalities and destructive tendencies that border
on the culture of impu-nity, tyranny and oppression, which
could be interpreted as the hallmark of dictatorship."

In a statement by his aide, Femi Adelegan yesterday, Oyinlola
said: "Prince Oyinlola is conscious of the provisions of the
PDP constitution which states without any equivocation that
'nominations to mem-bership of the Disciplinary Committee
at the national level shall be ratified by the National Executive
Council of PDP'.

"In effect, Oyinlola, as a law abiding member of PDP is not
aware of the composition of any disciplinary panel that is not
ratified or known to the National Executive Committee of
PDP.

"This reaction, itself is being made out of courtesy to the
media and it is right to be informed as Oyinlola has not
received any correspondence from any quarters and would not
honour any invitation from any illegal body since that would
amount to violating the constitution of the party.

"As individuals and elders, the PDP National Secretary has
great respect for members of the NWC committee.

"It is important to stress that the first meeting of NEC of PDP,
which is statutorily expected to be a quarterly affair,
deliberated on the composition of NEC, but never agreed on
its membership at the meeting."

Via: Vanguard

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