The internal strife in the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to be defying all solutions as the two contending forces are not willing to shift grounds.
The crisis has been in existence for months, preceding the 2015 general elections. But the outcome of the governorship shadow election where Mr. Jimi Agbaje emerged the party’s candidate was the harbinger of the friction. Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro, his arch-rival, rejected the outcome of the primary which he said was manipulated in favour of Agbaje.
The simmering controversy was quenched, following the intervention of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who re-appointed Obanikoro as Minister. However, Obanikoro’s mollification barely doused the tension as the fight has torn the party apart.
Supporters of Mr. Obanikoro, a former ambassador, a former Minister of state for Defence and later Foreign Affairs, accused a former National Vice-Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George of manipulating the state chairman, Capt. Tunji Shelle (rtd) to favour Agbaje during the primary.
Observers believe the current crisis rocking the party was largely fuelled by the supremacy battle between Obanikoro and George as the duo scramble to control the party.
In an audacious move to whittle down Mr. George’s influence, especially on the state working committee (SWC), some executive members in May suspended the party chairman, Capt. Shelle regarded as a lackey of George. The SWC members, numbering eight, slammed several allegations on the chairman, accusing him of mismanaging the 2015 campaign funds, acting unilaterally in the party, and taking other steps against the interest of the party.
The aggrieved exco members, however, named Mr. Kamal Olorunoje, the Chairman for Lagos Central as the acting Chairman. Mr Shelle had consistently dismissed his resignations, saying he remains the party chairman as only the National Executive of the party could suspend or sack him.
He said, “There’s a constitution on which the party is being run. Apart from that, there is the law of the state and the law of the country. We have to abide by all these laws. If we fail to do so, then it means that we haven’t done anything. He (Olorunoje) is old enough to know what is right and what is wrong. If somebody now decides to use him (Olorunoje) at his own age, it is just unfortunate.
“They don’t have the power to suspend me. And unfortunately for them, if a chairman leaves an office, who takes over? Is it not the Deputy? For whatever reason, not the Vice-Chairman, who is in charge of ordinary senatorial district. So, they did all these things to suit somebody’s purpose. But they can’t match my strength. They don’t have what it takes to fight me, I’m a child of God and I’ve worked for this party. Since this party came into existence, we have not won as many seats as we have done this time around”.
The embattled Chairman insisted that the Olorunoje group was being sponsored by Senator Obanikoro to “perpetrate illegality in the party”.
“They don’t have the majority and even if they have the majority, they don’t have the power and national (executive) has not given them any go-ahead to go and do anything. Unfortunately, he broke into my office and started using that office”, he added.
Mr. Olorunoje, who addressed the press penultimate week, insisted on the removal of the chairman whom he believes was acting the script of Mr. George in order to pave the way for the repositioning of the party. According to him, with George controlling the party executive, the chapter cannot move forward.
Speaking with newsmen, Mr. Olorunoje denied the insinuation that the suspension of Mr. Shelle was hatched by Mr. Obanikoro, saying only few members of the executive are loyal to Mr. Obanikoro.
He challenged Mr. Shelle to defend the allegations levelled against him. He stressed that the party only suspended Shelle to allow him defend the allegations.
According to him, members of the party cannot wait for the national executive to come and resolve the lingering issues. Hence, the decision to suspend Shelle and allow the national exco to ratify the suspension.
He said, “I’m the Vice-Chairman, Central. So, how will I be occupying the office illegally? We’ve 49 excos, out of those 49, the people who signed against him are more than the two-third. So, is that illegal? He’s just ranting and he’s making false arguments and accusations that Obanikoro was the one sponsoring us.
“Out of the Executive, probably people loyal to Obanikoro are not more than eight. The question I want to ask him is that those people who signed, are they all Obanikoro people? He’s doing as if Obanikoro is the one in charge of the party. Whereas Bode George is the one running the party…This is a democratic setting for God’s sake where the majority rules.”
As the crisis lingers, the national executive of the party intervened to resolve the matter and came up with a resolution last Thursday. The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in a statement signed by the National Legal Adviser, Barr. Victor Kwon, nullified the purported sack of Shelle, saying the chairman, being a National Executive Committee (NEC) member, can only be removed by the NEC. The party urged the aggrieved members in Lagos to forward their complaints to the headquarters.
But prior to the intervention of the national leadership, there was skepticism about the extent to which the national executive can go in resolving the lingering dispute. This was reflected in the repudiation of the party’s resolution by the Olounoje faction which insisted Shelle remained suspended.
Also, both Shelle and Olorunoje backers are not ready to sheathe their swords and work in unison in the overall interest of the party. Besides, the informed sources say it was the perceived partisanship of the national executive that exacerbated the crisis because the NWC members were also divided.
Reacting to the party’s decision, Mr Olounoje said as far as the party was concerned in Lagos, Shelle remained suspended, adding that the statement signed by the Legal Adviser was not binding.
Olounoje said, “What we said was that, we suspend him, we didn’t say we impeached him. We suspend him pending the time the allegations raised against him would be looked into. There is difference between suspension and impeachment.
“And again, why would the Legal Adviser sign a press release? It calls for concern. If the NWC did say yes, definitely we would follow. But I don’t think the national officers signed it because we have contacted many of the national officers who said that is not their decision.
“Their decision was that they should issue a letter to call both of us to come forward. So, the statement is not binding. It is just a statement, it is not a ruling. The statement is not binding because he is claiming that we impeached him. But he is a lawyer. We did not say anything about impeachment. We’ve been saying suspending”.
However, Capt. Shelle described the NWC’s decision as a correction of illegality and anomaly by Olounoje’s faction, saying he wouldn’t join issues with him because he (Olorunoje) was never an acting Chairman.
“I don’t want to join issue with him. Maybe he has a different party which I don’t know. He’s never an acting Chairman. He is just an impostor. He is not even my Deputy not to talk of coming to take over my seat. They don’t even have power to suspend me. The constitution is clear and that’s what the national working committee has said”, he said.
Analysts believe that the crisis can further affect the fortune of the party in the state unless the warring parties agree to work together.
Will the aggrieved members give peace a chance? Only time will tell.
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