Olayinka Olukoya takes a look at the lingering crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ogun State chapter, following the setting up of a Transition, Reconciliation and Congress Committee (TRCC) by the National Vice-Chairman of the party in the South-West, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo.THE Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is again enmeshed in crisis, as the leadership of the party in the state has dragged the National Vice-Chairman in the South West, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, the National Legal Adviser, Olusola Oke, and some factional members of the party in the state before a Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, for not respecting an order of the court.It will be recalled that during the build-up to the April 2011 general election, the tussle for the legality or otherwise of the then Joju Fadairo-led executive of the party in the state became a matter of controversy and the national leadership of the party ordered for a harmonised executive for the party in the state. This development did not go down well with some members of the party, while some welcomed it. Failure by some members of the party to agree on certain positions concerning the harmonised executive necessitated the party's woeful performance in the last elections.Former Governor Gbenga Daniel's faction had the party primaries, supervised by officials delegated by the national body, at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta, while another faction, believed to have the backing of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had its own primaries at the Olusegun Obsanjo Presidential Library, also in Abeokuta, on the same day. The ruling party became a laughing stock in the state because the then Joju Fadairo-led executive produced Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka as the gubernatorial candidate of the party, while the Obasanjo faction produced General Adetunji Olurin as the party's candidate.The issue became a subject of litigation, as the two parties headed for the courts. While the Fadairo executive went to court to defend its legality that was being challenged by a member, Buruji Kashamu, the other faction approached the court to authenticate the candidature of Olurin as the party's standard-bearer for the April polls. The Olurin group obtained an interlocutory injunction before a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the Fadairo-led exco from parading themselves as executives of the party, claiming that the party recognised the Dayo Soremi led harmonised exco. Justice Kafarati ruled in favour of the Dayo Soremi group and declared Olurin as the candidate of the party for the election.Not satisfied with the outcome of the Abuja Court judgment, some members defected from the PDP to form the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), which eventually scuttled the chances of the ruling party in governing the state like it did from 2003 to 2011. Shortly, after the election, the 'sponsor' of the pre- election, Kashamu, allegedly hijacked the structure of the party indirectly, and filled the quota reserved for the other side in the harmonisation arrangement with members of the Omo'Ilu group.This development did not go down well with some members of the party and they rose up to reclaim the soul of the party from Kashamu.The party, in the bid to provide a level-playing field in the congresses, which had earlier been fixed for January 7, and later shifted to between February 4 and February 25 by the national body, set up a transition committee with a mandate to reconcile members and also to conduct peaceful party congresses.The setting up of the Transition, Reconciliation and Congress Committee(TRCC) had become another subject of litigation in the PDP fold in the state. The Soremi-led excecutive, which had the full support of Kashamu, kicked against the setting up of the committee, claiming that the power to conduct party congress resided in the state exco and not any other organ or committee of the party.Soremi and some other members of the party had again approached a Federal High Court in Lagos to secure an injunction restraining the party at the zonal level from conducting the party's congresses, which was similar to what ousted the then Fadairo exco from office when they were yet to complete their terms.The court had, on 25 October, 2011, ordered parties to maintain the status quo, while on 14 December, it also ordered that the parties should refrain from issuing and compiling registers of members of the party in Ogun; and, on 15 December, it again ordered that the election of new leaders of the party at all levels in the state be conducted by the executive committee, headed by Soremi.Despite the orders of the court, the TRCC in the state was inaugurated with Honourable Bode Mustapha serving as the chairman, while other members included Titus Eweje, Fasiu Bakene, Gbenga Shobowale, Dipo Odujirin, Micheal Fasinu, Dayo Adebayo, Iyabo Apampa and Segun Showunmi. The TRCC, since its inauguration, Nigerian Tribune learnt, had commenced the work of reconciling aggrieved members and ensuring peaceful conduct of the congresses, and members were, on the same day, served with warrants. But there were clear indications that the committee had been polarised. Some claimed that there was no need for the setting up of the TRCC with the argument that the committee would usurp the powers and functions of the exco in conducting the congresses, while some believed that only the committee would bring about the desired results.A member of the committee, Mr. Segun Sowunmi, told Nigerian Tribune that some members of the party were making frantic effort to hijack the leadership of the party from Soremi. He claimed that the zonal body of the party has no power to set up a congress committee with the intention of getting the committee to usurp the responsibilities and functions of that exco.Sowunmi confirmed that court ballifs served members of the committee letters at the venue of the inauguration which prompted him to ask other members of the committee if they were not acting contrary to the order of the court. He contended further that no committee outside the state executive committee of the party conducted the congresses, saying,' In 1998, was it Section 12.54 that created the congresses of that time' We do congresses every four years. In 2002, for the 2003 one, was it Section 12.54 that did it or was it the zonal that did the congresses' In 2006 for 2007 congresses, was it Section 12.54 that did it or was it the zonal that did it''There is a procedure for congresses. Therefore, if the court says you can't do it, are you higher than the constitution or the court' If there is a lacuna between what you think and what I think and we are all relying on the same constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the constitution of our party, is it not the court that is going to tell us exactly the true position of things' Even when the Joju Fadairo-led exco and Dayo Soremi-led exco were fighting, do you think we did not rely on every available constitutional means to resolve this matter' You think we don't know the articles in the constitution of our party''But eventually, when Abdul Kafarati made that historical pronouncement that we had no right in the first instance to have conducted primaries, therefore the primaries that is due and considered to be legitimately conducted is the one that produced Olurin. You think that if justice had been given to the Joju Fadairo-led exco and Gboyega Nasir Isiaka had become the candidate at that time, do you think that some of these people too would not have waited behind to work for him' Politics is not like that.'We are not in politics to fight; we are in politics to do the common good of everybody within a certain ambience and, therefore, you cannot insist that if the judgment is given to you, I cannot insist that if the judgment is given to me, we cannot work together. Otherwise, why should two people go for contest in a political party and the next day, the governor is now going to be governor of everybody, including the man he just contested with. So, this thing is not a do-or-die affair,' he said, affirming that the constitution was totally illegal and should be seen as effort in futility.Sowunmi said, 'If you have monitored the media, Oyo State has distanced itself from the illegality; Ekiti State is doing same, Ogun State will have none of that. The truth of the matter is that there is political sophistication at different degrees in different places. We have always maintained that the level of political sophistication in Ogun State is higher than in most other states. Whereas, if you are doing something in other states and people are timid, in Ogun State it's not like that. In any situation, Ogun is too dynamic for anybody to usurp the authority. Let all men of goodwill align themselves with the leadership of the party.'In his own submission, Mustapha argued that the action taken so far by the committee was not contemptuous in any way. He confirmed that, indeed, an invitation was served on his person which he said was ambiguous and unspecific. He explained that his invitation by the police was instigated by some members of the party who were trying to pocket the leadership of the party and affirmed that there was no crisis in the party.'We don't have any crisis in the party; we have somebody who claims to be a moneybag and he is trying to pocket the party and he knows that we will not allow that. I am the chairman of the TRCC. They went to court and said they filed court proceedings. They cannot build illegality on what is legal. At the risk of being immodest, he does not know what the court process is all about; he does not know what the party constitution is all about.'They talked about harmonised exco; the so-called harmonised exco is an extra-constitutional arrangement that cannot claim the right reserved for an executive set up according to the constitution. The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party has gone to court to say that this party has no state exco in Ogun State; so what are we talking about''We are not in contempt of any court. But whatever happened, I have been inaugurated along with my members. I told you, ab ibnitio, that harmonised exco is alien to the PDP constitution; it was meant to be an in-house arrangement. It was dead on arrival because both parties did not agree on any list. And because both parties did not agree on any list to be forwarded to the NWC, it has no locus standi,', he said.But a Federal High Court in Lagos, on Tuesday, summoned Tajudeen Oladipo, Olusola Oke and some factional leaders of the party in Ogun State to appear before it in respect of a contempt proceedings brought against them. Others summoned are its National Organising Secretary, Uche Secondus, Jimoh Adigun; Mustapha Olabode, Titus Eweje, Fasiu Bakene, Gbenga Shobowale, Dipo Odujirin, Michael Fasinu, Dayo Adebayo, Iyabo Apampa and Segun Showunmi.The presiding judge, Justice Charles Archibong, ordered them to appear before him following arguments by their lawyers, Olajide Ajana and Gani Bello, that the alleged contemnors were not served copies of a motion seeking their committal to prison for allegedly violating the court's orders. They were to appear before the court on 27 January, when the court is also expected to rule on the substantive suit and the preliminary objection filed against it by the respondents.In this struggle, the contenders are Soremi, Kashamu, Agboola Alausa Sowunmi on one side and General Olurin, Senator Kola Bajomo and Chief Mustapha on another side.
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