The acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, Lanre Omolase, has dismissed the dissolution of the State Executive Committee of the party by the Iyorchia Ayu-led National Working Committee, describing it as an exercise in futility.
Omolase, who said he remained the PDP chairman in the state until a court of competent jurisdiction ruled otherwise, said the party’s NWC lacked such powers to remove duly elected SEC members.
The Ekiti PDP boss, in a statement on Sunday titled “I remain PDP chairman of PD in Ekiti State, Omolase dismisses dissolution of exco,” also condemned the suspension by the NWC of the National Assembly candidates in the state, and said, “There is nowhere the candidates were invited to defend themselves as dictated by the principle of fair hearing.”
The statement was in reaction to the announced dissolution of the Ekiti exco and the suspension of seven out of the nine PDP candidates for the National Assembly by the NWC for alleged anti-party activities.
Omolase, who clarified why he and some other PDP chieftains were absent when Ayu and the PDP presidential candidate were in Ekiti for the campaign last week, said, “For the campaign rally, only two out of nine National Assembly candidates were involved. Even as acting chairman, I was completely ignored.
“It, therefore, appears funny and laughable to me that the NWC, which did not visit Ekiti during the last governorship election, is now angry that we did not attend a presidential rally that we were never involved in its planning.”
Omolase added, “Any action that is against a subsisting order of the court is not only a waste of time but also contemptuous. I am still the acting chairman of the PDP in Ekiti, and only the court of law can say otherwise.
“My position as the acting chairman is as dictated by a court of competent jurisdiction, and the court order is still subsisting. The court’s position is that nothing can be done about the PDP state chairmanship until the final determination of a suit is filed when two people claimed the party chairmanship.
“Aside from the fact that there is an ongoing court order supporting my position, the NWC does not have the authority to dismiss duly elected executive committee members of the party at any level.
“Also, I condemn the purported suspension of the National Assembly candidates of the party,” he said, adding, “Our complaint was about the composition of the Presidential Campaign Council, in which members of the Social Democratic Party were accorded vantage positions.
“Our position was that the SDP has candidates for the National Assembly whose elections will be held on the same day as those of the President, and the party is only interested in funding its candidates with resources from the PDP.”
