Two chairmen emerge in Ekiti PDP as Fayose, others engage in battle of supremacy
The Ekiti state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has engulfed in a fresh crisis as former Governor Ayodele Fayose and some leaders of the party engaged in fight over the appointment of one Alaba Agboola, as the substantive chairman.
Telescope.ng gathered that a faction of the party loyal to Fayose had announced Agboola as the substantive chairman, which angered the party members and urged the members to discountenance such arrangements they described as “undemocratic.”
To counter the position of the Fayose’s loyalists in the State Working Committee of the party, some aggrieved stalwarts, also elected former local government chairman in Ado Ekiti, Hon. Deji Ogunsakin, as chairman.
Following the emergence of the immediate past chairman, Bisi Kolawole, as the party’s governorship candidate for the June 18 poll, his deputy, Lanre Omolase was appointed in acting capacity to preside over the PDP before Agboola was appointed.
A statement by Omolase on Monday, July 4, and made available to journalists, in Ado Ekiti, said that Agboola, from Ijero Ekiti, would replace Kolawole, who resigned as the state chairman to contest the governorship.
He said that the appointment of Agboola as the substantive state chairman was among the resolutions reached at the State Executive Committee meeting held, in Ado Ekiti on Monday, July 4.
The communique signed by Omolase and state secretary, Funmi Ogun, reads: “At the Exco meeting of the PDP, Ekiti State, which held at the State Secretariat of the Party, at the instance of Hon. Lanre Omolase, on Monday, July 4, 2022, deliberated on the need to appoint a substantive chairman for our party, in accordance with the party’s constitution.
“Article 47(6) of the Constitution of our great party, the People’s Democratic Party, provided that ‘Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the executive committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officr.’
“Accordingly and in view of the resignation of our erstwhile Party Chairman, Hon. Bisi Kolawole, who became our party flag bearer at the recent Ekiti State Governorship Election, the state executive committee members present deliberated on an appropriate and capable stalwart from the same zone as our erstwhile chairman and unanimously appointed Hon. Alaba Agboola as substantive chairman, to serve out the remainder of the tenure of our said erstwhile chairman.
“It was also resolved that Hon. Lanre Omolase should revert to his elected post as the deputy chairman of our party, PDP, Ekiti State, while the national officials of our great party, corporate organisations, as well as our teeming party members and the general public be immediately notified of the appointment of our new substantive party chairman.”
But in a counter move, a factional State Executive Committee (SEC), immediately swing into action and ratified the appointment of the former chairman, Ado local government and 2018 deputy governorship candidate, Deji Ogunsakin, as the new state chairman of PDP.
The party announced the appointment yesterday at its meeting in Ado Ekiti after Agboola emerged.
The PDP state publicity secretary, Hon Raphael Adeyanju, in a statement, said the appointment is in line with section 47(6) of the party constitution.