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| Shelle was reportedly sacked by the committee after being found guilty of unspecified allegations levelled against him. |
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, seems to have extended to its Lagos State chapter as the state chairman, Mr Tunji Shelle, was sacked by 34 members of the State Working Committee.
Shelle was reportedly sacked by the committee after being found guilty of unspecified allegations
levelled against him.
Also, the committee accused Shelle of mismanaging election campaign funds and manipulating the party’s primaries last year which ultimately led to the defeat of the PDP at the polls.
He was immediately replaced by Kamaldeen Olorunoje, who will manage the affairs of the party.
Olorunje, before his new appointment, was the vice chairman of the party.
But in a swift reaction, the embattled chairman, Shelle described the sack as null and void.
Speaking with Chat212 over his removal, Shelle described those involved in the plot as jokers.
State Working Committee sacks Shelle
The party, while taking the decision, accused Shelle among other 13 allegations, of being responsible for the loss the PDP suffered during the March 28 and April 11 elections elections.
Addressing newsmen at the party secretariat, the PDP state secretary, Alhaji Wahab Owokoniran, who spoke on behalf of others, said the decision was arrived at to protest the way the party was being run, leading to the last elections.
He said: “We members of exco have all agreed that the way the party is being run should not be allowed. You will all agree with me that this party is not well run before, during and after the elections. There is need for restructuring. If we want restructuring, there is no way the Chairman can continue in office.”
Owokoniran said the Disciplinary Committee set up by the party had recommended expulsion or impeachment of Shelle having found him guilty of all the allegations levelled against him.
While disclosing Shelle’s refusal to appear before the panel, the party chieftain said the party resolved to “impeach” the PDP chairman.
Outlining some of the allegations, Owokoniran accused the party chairman of unilaterally rendering the PDP structure inactive before, during and after the 2015 general polls without the approval of the State Executive, allegedly allocating “funds to various party members and officials according to his wishes of seeking the approval of the State Working Committee.”
Accusing Shelle of allegedly hijacking the functions of treasurer and the party secretary, he alleged that “the money received by the party was outsourced to a third party who keeps it in his bank account and disburses from it.”
In addition, he said “he (Shelle) calls party official meeting without consultation. Lawful duties were neglected especially refusing to consult with the State Electoral Commissioner until four months after he was deployed to the state. Party guideline on payment for nomination form was breached by allowing his favoured aspirants to collect forms without payment.”
“In Epe LGA, he manipulated a draw situation between two aspirants in the party primaries to favour hos preferred candidate. His candidate defected to APC after losing the election,” Owokoniran alleged.
I’ll reorganise Lagos PDP—Ag chairman
In his acceptance speech, the newly appointed Acting Chairman, Olorunoje, promised to bring about a new lease of life to the Lagos PDP, saying “the party shall be reorganised, renewed and reformed to face future challenges.”
Olorunoje, who highlighted the need for accountability to make progress in any endevour, promised to probe the causes of poor showing the party recorded in the last elections.
“The causes of the poor showing at the last elections will be reviewed and corrected before the forthcoming local government elections,” he noted.
Youths kick
Shortly after the news broke out, some youths stormed the secretariat of the party at GRA Ikeja to protest Shelle’s removal.
The youths led by one Shamsideen Lawal said they will not allow the acting chairman, Olorunoje and his team to function until the decision is reversed.
According to them, Shelle’s removal as the party chairman is “unfair, unjust, uncalled for and constitutional”.
He said the state chairman should be commended and not condemned for his sterling leadership as witnessed in the just concluded general elections.
He said the aim of the Olorunoje faction is to destabilise the party ahead of the local government elections so as to give the APC which is sponsoring the faction an edge.
According to him, “we will not accept this kangaroo impeachment. How can you say you impeach a man who gave us five seats in the House of Representatives and eight seats in the House of Assembly in a state that is the stronghold of APC. It is unheard of.”
I remain the chairman—Shelle
Faulting his removal, the state chairman, who said it was contrary to the PDP constitution, noted it is only the National Executive Council, NEC, of the party that can remove him from office.
He said “they are jesters, they are jokers. They are a set of irresponsible people, I do not even know them because they do not belong to the PDP. They have not followed the party’s constitution and in any case, the South-West leadership has already rebuked them. I was at a meeting of the South West leaders when I got the message and the South west has ready reacted on it. Similarly, the national leadership has rebuked them because I am a member of the National Executive Council of the party, they do not have the powers to remove, impeach or even suspend me.”
Asked whether the leadership of the party will be taking disciplinary steps against those involved in the plot, he said “definitely, they will because those involved will not be able to go back on the impeachment. They will be afraid of their shadows now because they have committed sacrilege.”
Shelle, who described the alleged impeachment as an exercise in futility insisted he remained the state chairman of the party.
“They have committed a huge blunder because they will regret getting involved in the first place.”
In addition, he said “I have worked for the party, I have done what no other person has done for the party before. The party has never won elections in the past because in my time, we won some seats. Now these nonentity have been sponsored to remove me. They must have been sponsored because they are a group of hungry people, they do not have pedigree.”
Exonerating himself from the accusation that he manipulated the primary that produced Jimi Agbaje as the governorship candidate of the party in Lagos State he said Agbaje “remains the credible candidate that I know”.
He stated that “I am not a controversial person. I believe in doing my best. I have the singular opportunity to serve the party and I have done my best. “Jimi Agbaje remains the credible candidate that I know and my pedigree and integrity remains impeccable. Only the NEC of the party has the powers to impeach me, definitely not Owokoniran and Olorunoje”.
“They have missed it because they failed to follow the party constitution. I remain the chairman”, he said.
Lagos PDP says sack laughable
In its reaction, the Lagos state chapter of the PDP described Shelle’s purported sack as “laughable, null and void”.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Taofik Gani, the party called on party members to discountenance the said sack whilst also admonishing the brains behind the preposterous action to retrace their steps and allow peace to reign in the party.
The statement reads “the PDP reiterates that the State Chairman leading the present state exco has delivered the best unprecedented electoral result to the party members. It is therefore very irrational for any persons to provoke acrimony in the party by claiming that the State Chairman has not performed to warrant continuing in office. The party also faulted the modus operandi employed by the detractors which offends the provisions of the party’s constitution on the sack of a State chairman.”
The statement further read: “the State Chairman is a member of NEC and can only be removed or suspended by the consent of the NEC. There is no NEC approval to the action. It thus stands, Null and Void. For sake of clarity, Capt. Tunji Shelle remains the legitimate chairman of PDP in the state. All dealings with the party in the State should be through him”.
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