THE crisis rocking the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been taken to the floors of the National Working Committee, NWC and National Executive Committee, NEC.
Currently, the table seems to have turned against the faction loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo following the recent announcement by the NWC, which confirmed the Adebayo Dayo-led exco as the authentic and duly elected state executive in the Gateway State.
Going by the NWC’s pronouncement, the coast seems to have cleared for the Buruji Kashamu loyal executive in the state to start preparing for the 2015 election.
And expectedly, many people who were seen flirting with the Obasanjo faction before the NWC’s pronouncement have switched loyalty to the newly recognized executive.
The NWC-favoured exco held a meeting 48 hours after the declaration by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led NWC at the Ijebu-Igbo residence of the party financier, which became a Mecca of sorts as many party members trooped out to hobnob with the ‘new leader.’
However, the last might not have been heard about the fight over the control of the party in the state as the Obasanjo faction has vowed to use the influence of the NEC, which has many Obasanjo loyalists.
The Obasanjo faction through its Chairman, Dipo Odujinrin in its reaction to the pronouncement of the NWC said, it “received with shock, the pronouncement of the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Olisa Metu in the newspapers this morning; I found it very disturbing because we saw the signs during the week when we observed that J.K Gadzama (SAN), issued a notice of discontinuance of the Appeals against the court cases which the National Publicity Secretary referred to as reasons which the committee used to take their decision.”
“It was very obvious that the appeals were going against the Buruji Kashamu group and if you all recall, in an attempt to stop one of the appeals, the Bayo Dayo group wrote a petition in which he alleged that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo gave money to Chief Afe Babalola to bribe Court of Appeal Justices, who were going to sit on the appeal on that day and that made the Appeal Court Justices to excuse themselves from the matter.
“If the appeal has been heard, the whole situation would have been different but in order not to allow the appeal to be heard, that was why the National Working Committee withdrew the appeal suddenly and was now able to use the ruling that was subsisting in taking their decision which they said they took two days ago.
“However, at our meeting this afternoon, we have resolved in accordance with article 31 sub-sections 2(8) of our constitution to appeal to the National Executive Committee of the party which is the much higher body than the National Working Committee and we believe that our appeal to that body would receive a favourable consideration and this injustice will be corrected. We put our faith in the National Executive Committee of PDP and trust that the right thing will be done,” the Obasanjo faction said.
For Buruji Kashamu, who is loyal to the newly recognized executive, the NWC has spoken and the matter has been resolved. Indeed, the newly recognized executive said it was ready to work with the members of the faction loyal to former President Obasanjo to stabilize and strengthen Ogun PDP. It denied fighting a personal battle with Obasanjo, describing the former president as a father to all members of the party in the state.
