The removal of the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP in Ondo State, Fatai Adams, has triggered concerns about the future of the main opposition party in the state, especially as parties and their stalwarts gear up for the forthcoming governorship election. HAKEEM GBADAMOSI writes on issues behind the muscle flexing among the main stakeholders in the state PDP and the rising concern.
Ahead of the November 2024 governorship election in Ondo State, a fresh crisis is festering in the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the state. The problem is obviously an offshoot of the perennial internal conflict in the party, traceable to the intrigues that followed the 2020 governorship election, coupled with the gradual buildup to a similar poll coming this year.
The latest crisis came to public knowledge, when the chairman of the party in the state, Fatai Adams, was suspended by the State Working Committee (SWC) for alleged anti- party activities, as well as the purported infiltration of the party by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The suspension letter was approved and signed by nine out of 11 SWC members, including the state deputy chairman, Tola Alabere; secretary, Oluseye Olujimi and Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, among others. According to them, the alleged action of Adams against the party is capable of bringing disrepute to the PDP in the state. They said the suspension was in consonance with the provisions of PDP Constitution. They gave the suspended chairman one week to appear before the disciplinary committee of the party to answer questions about the allegations. But Adam quickly kicked, declaring that he remained the chairman of the party. He said his purported suspension would not stand because it was politically motivated. He alleged that the suspension was done in order for those involved to carry out what he described as an agenda for the Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency bye election in February. He accused some elements of trying to destroy the democratic values that the PDP is known for.
A number of ripple effects have emerged since the outbreak of the imbroglio. It has caught the interest of the national leadership of PDP. In fact, the development appears to have pitted the National Working Committee and the SWC against each other. The embattled state chairman is believed to enjoy the support for the NWC, which nullified the suspension less than two hours after it was pronounced. The nullification was contained in a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, who described the suspension as illegal and of no effect. He said no state executive has the power to suspend a state chairman without due recourse to the national leadership as provided by the PDP Constitution. He maintained that Adams remained the party chairman in Ondo State, charging all critical stakeholders to disregard the purported suspension. Ologunagba stated: “The NWC declares the said suspension as null and void and of no effect, not being consistent with provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) and laid down rules. The PDP is an organized political party governed by strict adherence to the provisions of its Constitution and Rules and will not allow any individual or group at any level to violate its Constitution and Rules. “The NWC cautions those involved in this illegal act in defiance of the PDP Constitution to retrace their steps as the NWC will not hesitate to take appropriate disciplinary or punitive actions to preserve the stability of our party and the sanctity of our Constitution and Rules.”
However, the SWC countered the NWC over its stance on the suspension of Adams. According to the SWC, contrary to the position of the NWC on the decision to suspend Adams, all levels of the party have powers to discipline erring members of the executive, whether at the ward, local government, state, or zonal levels. A chieftain of the party, who faulted Ologunagba and the NWC, informed that the party in the state is guided by the constitution, directing Ologunagba to the provision of Section 57, subsection 3 that states : “At every level, the Working Committee has capacity to discipline any erring member of that committee at that level.” He explained that once else the working committee takes a decision, it is now left for the Executive Committee to decide on whether what the Committee has done is right or wrong.” The chieftain added: “Let him tell us the section in the constitution that says the SWC has no right suspend the chairman. He failed to quote any constitution to support his argument.”
The publicity secretary of the party, Kennedy Peretei, picking hole in the statement credited to PDP national spokesman, described the statement of Ologunagba, on behalf of the NWC, as embarrassing, accusing him of not being full grounded in the constitution of the party, as well as happening within the PDP in the state. “The state chairman, Fatai Adams, is a member of the State Working Committee and can therefore be sanctioned in the case of flagrant disregard for SWC decisions. To this end, the suspension of Fatai Adams remains.
“Unfortunately, Honourable Ologunagba, who is from Ondo State, appears not to have up-to-date information about the party in Ondo State. If he had, he would have been the last person to issue such a misleading statement. Nine out of the eleven State Working Committee (SWC) members signed the suspension letter. That alone is a confirmation that Fatai Adams has overstayed his usefulness as state chairman.”
Peretei said what the party has done is a minor surgery that will help the health of the PDP in future elections in the state. It would be recalled that Adams suffered a similar fate at the eve of 2023 general election, as the SWC called for his removal over alleged incompetence, high-handedness, lack of transparency, anti-party and polarisation of PDP across the 18 local governments of the state. The SWC had claimed that he lacked the capacity to lead the party to victory in the general election. A member of the SWC had claimed: “As far as this man is the chairman, we would not win any election in Ondo in 2023.” He alleged that the chairman was doing the bidding of a governorship hopeful of the party in 2020, keeping other leaders of the party in the dark about the activities of the party. He said: “The ongoing crisis in the party was caused by the inordinate ambition of a former governorship candidate to become the candidate of the party in the 2024 election in the state. They are scheming for the 2024 governorship election instead of working towards securing a win for the 2023 election and delivering the state for PDP and Atiku. They are talking of 2024 governorship elections and that is the main reason for the division within the party.”
However, the publicity secretary of the party, Peretei, had stated then that the leaders of the party appealed to the SWC members to sheath their swords and work with the chairman for the development of the party ahead of the election. He said: “Yes there was a joint meeting with the SWC members and the party leaders but the leaders have appealed to them to let peace reign in the party. It is an internal issue and it has been resolved. It is a normal thing to have issues within the party. They can’t be talking about the removal of the party chairman some few days to elections, no matter the gravity of the allegations. The timing is wrong.”
Nonetheless, the crisis took a new twist last Wednesday when the SWC, countered the NWC for opposing the suspension of Adams and the appointment of the deputy chairman of the party, Tola Alabere, as the acting chairman of the state PDP to avoid a vacuum. The choice of Alabere was ratified by nine out of the 11 members of the SWC, who alleged that Adams was suspended over alleged anti-party activities and actions detrimental to the party’s reputation. A chieftain of the party, who shed light on the suspension, said there were remote and immediate causes of the crisis. He said there was an attempt to remove Adams in 2023, but he was saved by the leaders of the party. According to him Adams was accused of high handedness and divisive tendency.
On the immediate cause of the latest action, he said it was all about the House of Representatives bye-election coming up next month in Akoko area of the state. The party has put in place a 20-man committee to screen the eight aspirants, who showed interest in the seat. He explained that the party decided to pick a consensus candidate to avoid what happened during the Akure North/South bye election. He disclosed that the committee recommended a consensus candidate for the party. It settled for the aspirant who came first in the screening exercise as the party’s candidate. He, however, alleged Adams objected to the choice of the candidate and settled for the man who came third. He alleged: “Adams picked the man, who came third and wanted to impose him on the party. But, the SWC objected to this and unanimously agreed to abide with the decision of the 20-man committee. This is the bone of contention.” He further claimed that the chairman decided to avoid SWC whenever they called meeting, even as they accused him of backing a contestant that was third during screening that is believed to being sponsored by the APC. Speaking on the action of the national secretariat, the party chieftain said the PDP national secretariat erred by taking sides in the brewing feud, describing as provocative, the statement issued by Ologunagba, which, according to him, has exacerbated the anger of the party members and leaders against Adams.
As the governorship election draws near, there is an increasing concern within the rank and file of the state PDP on the effect of the brewing crisis on the party. But the main stakeholders differ on the compromise needed to resolve the issues, due to the variegated interests within the party raising fears on how the current problem could affect the fortune of the party in the November 2024 election if urgent steps are not taken.