New Telegraph

Lagos PDP: One party, several interests

Recent developments in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State have made the party an opposition gasping for breath. In this report, WALE ELEGBEDE looks at the gale of suspension among groups within the State Executive Council and what it portends ahead of the 2023 governorship race

Normally, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State usually experiences crisis penultimate year for general elections, but this time, the fire came quite early and members of the state executive are up in arms against each other for the soul of the party.

The affairs of the party became dramatic last week with a harvest of sanctions, suspension, and countersuspension, thereby weakening further the already fragile structure of the party in the state. Coming with a load of reasons for its action, the state chairman of the PDP, Engr Adedeji Doherty, last Wednesday, slammed suspension on its secretary, Mr Muiz Shodipe; the spokesperson, Barrister Taofik Gani and an Ex-Officio member, Mr Nurudeen Adewale, over alleged anti-party activities. According to Doherty in a statement, he said the trio were “consistently and flagrantly breaching major provisions of the party constitution and have been found to have involved themselves in anti-party activities, which could cause disunity among the party faithful.”

The officers were also accused of “constantly creating disharmony, discord, and division in the party by calling unauthorized State Executive meetings with the intention of creating a parallel structure within the party.”

Present at the meeting where the decision to take drastic action against the trio was ratified were about 45 executive members, but only 35 voted in favour of the suspension while 10 members declined to vote at the party meeting. Also present were 18 out of 20 local government party chairmen who also voted in favour of the decision.

The chairman of Eti-Osa Council, however, abstained, while the chairmanship seat of Lagos Mainland) is vacant. The meeting further concluded that the sanctioned members are to face the party’s Disciplinary Committee in ac-cordance with relevant provisions of the party’s constitution, they further advised that anyone who has any form of complaint or grievance should channel such through the Truth, Mediation and Reconciliation Committee headed by former state chairman of the party.

Interestingly, the trio of Shodipe, Gani and Adewale are close associates of the leader of the party in the state, Chief Olabode George, thereby providing political analysts an argument that the perceived cold war between the state chairman and his erstwhile leader, George, may have reached the crescendo.

But in a twist of event, the purportedly suspended trio and some other members of the party at the Ikeja GRA secretariat of the party, passed a vote of no confidence on Doherty over alleged anti-party activities among other allegations and further pronounced him suspended from office. Addressing newsmen, the state party executive, led by the Secretary, Shodipe, alleged that the chairman was guilty of financial mismanagement and polarisation of the party, adding that the party elders had brought Doherty on board as a unifying factor but that he had been acting to the contrary. According to him, the chairman has been demanding loyalty to himself or declaring members as “persona non grata” if they are unwilling.

He also alleged that the chairman often polarises the state working committee by not involving those members, who strongly disagreed with his leadership style, in the affairs of the party. He said: “The chairman lacks transparency in the management and ac-countability of the party finances and administration. Since assumption of office as the state chairman in the past one year, Doherty has failed to at least, convene just one state assembly meeting.

“The assembly meeting comprised of all strata of the party at all levels, most importantly the state working committee and the state executive members. He hobnobs with the opposition party regularly and jettisons all strategies aimed at winning the last Lagos East Senatorial by-election,’’ Shodipe said.

To fill the void, party members at the congress, before the press briefing, had through a voice vote, appointed Mr. Waliu Hassan, the Deputy Chairman of the party as the acting chairman. Also, the congress passed a vote of confidence in Shodipe; Mr. Gani Taofeeq (State Publicity Secretary) and Mr. Nurudeen Adewale (State Ex-Officio). Other PDP State Executive members at the briefing included Chief Taiwo Kuye, PDP South-West Caretaker Member; Alhaji Segun Sowole, the PDP Vice Chairman, Lagos Central and Mr Tejumade Muyideen, PDP Legal Adviser.

While Doherty described the report of his removal as PDP chairman in Lagos State as false, Barr. Mustapha Ahmed Okandeji, the Secretary of the committee set up by the Doherty leadership, said it had sent invitations to the suspended members to appear before it and defend themselves of various allegations leveled against them.

In the invitation letter, Shodipe was accused of calling and attending an illegal meeting where the chairman, Doherty, was purportedly removed as against the party constitution while the suspended Publicity Secretary was accused of issuing press statement, lying that the chairman had resigned.

The Secretary, Shodipe, in the invitation letter, was accused of “disseminating false and misleading information about the party with an intention to bring the name of the party to disrepute in the eyes of right-thinking members of the party and the General Public,” among others.

Gani, in the letter inviting him, was accused of working in collaboration with the State Secretary, Shodipe, by consistently sending invitations for State Executive meetings in different locations in Lagos without consulting with members of the State Executive Committee and the state chairman.

It reads, “That you (Taofik Gani) sent out invites and went on a rampage on the 23rd of August 2020. You called for a State Working Committee and State Executive meetings at the state secretariat slated for Monday 24th August 2020 without due constitutional consultation or approval from the state chairman or State Executive Committee.

“That you (Taofik Gani) granted a press interview wherein he declared Mr. Gbadamosi (aspirant for Lagos East Senatorial) as the elected flag bearer of the party in a faraway 2023 gubernatorial contest, which prejudices the interest of other prospective future aspirants to the said office.

“That you (Taofik Gani) have failed to use the office of the publicity secretary to launder the image of the party but rather to demarket the party and diminish the integrity of the party as a viable alternative to the ruling party in Lagos State. You went on to the media to describe the COVID-19 palliative initiative of the party to assist the less privileged in Lagos during the pandemic as a ‘Fraud’ or ‘419.’

“That you (Taofik Gani) absent yourself from all SWC, State Executive meetings of the party and other official duties for more than six (6) months without any apology. “In view of the above, you are hereby invited to appear before the State Disciplinary Committee meeting to defend yourself of the aforesaid allegations on Monday, the 21st of December, 2020 at the state secretariat at No. 56, Adekunle Fajuyi Crescent Ikeja, Lagos State at 10 am prompt.

“Take notice that the provisions of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as Amended) and the provisions of Chapter 10, section 57(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the constitution of our great party (2017 Amended) guarantee fair hearing. Please, be assured of our esteemed regards always,” the letter read.

Reacting, the party’s spokesperson, described the report of his receipt of the invite to face a disciplinary committee as fake, saying he would be very glad to have the letter and indeed the date, time, venue well known. “My attention has been drawn to a fake report about my receipt of an invitation to face a disciplinary panel on a so-called suspension.

I will be very glad to have the letter and indeed the date, time, venue well known,” he said. Of course, the fresh wave of crisis in the party is the aftermath of the Lagos East senatorial by-election in which the party and its candidate, Babatunde Gbadamosi, promised much but delivered nothing at the December 5 poll held in five local governments of the state.

While allegations and counter-allegations of sabotage and working for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was rife in the PDP camp, not a few residents felt the party blew its opportunity to make a strong statement in the state’s polity, especially with the politics of 2023 already in sight.

No doubt, the Lagos PDP had never been out of crisis for once since the return of democracy in 1999. The crisis dovetailed into its performances in the elections and after every cycle of elections the party disperses only to find its feet just before another election year. For party members and supporters, the trend of crisis in the party after every election and starting all over again to rebuild for another election cycle is both worrisome and demoralizing for its progress.

With the influx of external influences in the affairs of the party in the state, it appears increasingly difficult for the warring groups to sit at a round table and collectively settle their differences. However, it is pertinent to the elders of the party in the state, led by Chief George to reconcile all interests and create a winning strategy. But until then, it is still “to your tents” for PDP members in Lagos.

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