Doubts Mount over Oyinlola’s Resumption as PDP Secretary

As the National Working Committee (NWC) of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) holds an
emergency meeting today to decide the fate of
Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was reinstated last
week by the Court of Appeal as the National
Secretary of the party, the breakaway faction
of the party has claimed that President
Goodluck Jonathan has directed that the
former Osun State governor should resume
work at the party’s secretariat.
Also, the faction Sunday said it had replaced
Oyinlola as its national secretary with Nasir
Isa Abubakar as the new scribe of the splinter
PDP, adding that a six-man committee headed
by its Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Sam
Jaja, had been set up for the reception of the
five new governors expected to defect to its
camp.
The Bamanga Tukur led-NWC would today
hold an emergency meeting to decide whether
to accept Oyinlola back as the substantive
national secretary of the ruling party or not.
The emergency meeting would have taken
place earlier, but for the absence of Tukur who
was outside the country on official duty.
But as the NWC prepares to meet, there is
concern that Oyinlola may not be reinstated as
the national secretary following comments by
the incumbent national secretary, Prof.
Olawale Oladipo, that he remained the party’s
scribe and that there was no cause for alarm.
This was a fall-out of a stay of execution
instituted by the PDP against the judgment of
the Court of Appeal at the Supreme Court by
the Ogun State chapter of the PDP.
However, the New PDP has threatened to
storm the national secretariat of the
mainstream PDP today to enforce Oyinlola’s
reinstatement.
It was gathered that it was against this
backdrop, that the police have increased
security surveillance at the Wadata Plaza, the
headquarters of the party, so as to maintain
law and order.
As at press time, more security men
consisting of policemen and members of the
civil defence corps had been drafted to the
PDP secretariat.
The police condoned off the PDP secretariat
with Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs)
stationed at all the junctions leading to and
outside the Wadata Plaza in Wuse Zone 5.
But the spokesman of the faction, Eze
Chukwuemeka Eze, said in a statement
yesterday that Jonathan had directed that
Oyinlola should resume work as the national
secretary.
In the statement, Eze said the faction has
“congratulated President Goodluck Jonathan
by once again improving on his democratic
credentials by directing the immediate
reinstatement of Prince Oyinlola as the duly
elected national secretary of PDP, not minding
the plot by some undemocratic elements
within the system who want to portray our
party in a bad light by embarking upon an
exercise in futility by trying to lure the South-
West PDP to write a petition against Prince
Oyinlola and use it to invite him to the Dikko’s
Disciplinary Committee and afterwards
suspend him.
“To us, this plot apart from being childish
exposes Tukur and his cohorts as true
enemies of PDP and the forces behind the
continuous crisis in the party which they don’t
want to end because of their myopic and
selfish goals.
“But thank God for the intervention of President
Jonathan to end this undesirable macabre
dance.”
The New PDP added that in a meeting
presided over by the faction’s National
Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, the
faction set up a six-man Reception/
Organising Committee to organise a reception
in honour of the five new governors of the PDP
who have decided to join the faction.
“The committee is headed by Hon. Dr. Sam
Jaja, National Vice Chairman of New PDP, with
Hon. Nasir Isa Abubakar, the National
Organising Secretary, as the secretary of the
committee.
“Other members of the committee include
Abubakar G. Umar, National Treasurer; Hon.
Binta Masi Garba, Women Leader; Mr. Timi
Frank, Youth Leader; and Chief Eze
Chukwuemeka Eze, National Public Secretary.
“The committee was directed to submit for
immediate consideration by the G7 governors,
the venue, logistics and modalities for
receiving the five governors, ex-governors,
nationalists and key members of the National
Assembly who have indicated interest to join
us,” the splinter PDP said.
In expressing its satisfaction with the Court of
Appeal judgment on Oyinlola, the faction
pleaded with President Jonathan to ensure
that the impunity in the PDP becomes a thing
of the past.
Eze said the faction, after considering the
expert opinion of its Legal Adviser, Mr. Eric
Opia, decided Oyinlola does not need another
oath of office to return to work as the PDP
national secretary as he had subscribed to
PDP’s oath of office alongside other members
of the NWC that were sworn in at the Eagle
Square on March 24, 2012.
The spokesman said: “According to the legal
expert, the import of the verdict by the
appellate court, which did not attach any
condition to its ruling, is that Oyinlola is the
validly elected PDP national secretary.
“That has also been the position of INEC which
monitored the national convention of PDP held
on March 24, 2012. As things stand, Oyinlola
remains the national secretary of PDP and only
the Supreme Court can reverse that decision.
“The New PDP NWC is therefore of the view
that Prince Oyinlola should resume office
immediately without waiting for any directive
from any quarters. Any other person who
parades himself as the national secretary of
PDP should be committed to prison for
contempt of court.”
The faction congratulated the G7 governors for
their decision to embark on a nationwide tour
to brief elders and former heads of state on
the state of PDP and the efforts by some
people to ensure that peace returns to the
party.
The faction said it welcomed the initiative of
the National Security Adviser to President
Jonathan, Col. Sambo Dasuki, to further
broker peace amongst the G7 governors, PDP
and the presidency, knowing the implication of
the continued crisis on governance and the
security of the nation.
It said the faction had considered other
options should talks with the president fail to
produce the desired result, stating, however,
that its door would remain open to the APC
option, while not ruling out other options that
would give leverage in reshaping the polity
come 2015.
Meanwhile, THISDAY learnt that Oyinlola may
not resume tomorrow as the PDP claimed that
the order of Court of Appeal has not been
served.
A top PDP source said after the G7 governors
meeting last night that the NWC resolved to
wait till the party was officially served.
Also briefing newsmen after their meeting, the
Niger State Governor, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu,
commended the Court of Appeal for reinstating
Oyinlola, stating that they are waiting for him
to assume office in line with the order.
Aliyu said Oyinlola would assume duty once
the court order is served, adding that it was
positive for the peace process.
He also said the G7 governors agreed to
attend the reconciliation meeting with
President Jonathan whenever he summons
the meeting.
On whether Jonathan had invited them to
meeting, he said: "Not yet, not officially. As far
as I am concerned, we should look at it as
more positive or rather a plus for the resolution
of the matter".
He said their meeting last night was in an
anticipation that the president may any
moment from now summon the seven
aggrieved governors to a meeting, hence they
met to harmonise their position.
The governors at the meeting were the
Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu
Wamakko (Sokoto), Aliyu (Niger), Chibuike
Amaechi (Rivers), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara),
Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and the Deputy
Governor of Jigawa State.
Also in attendance were some members of the
House of Representatives and Senators. The
meeting took place at the Kano State
Governor's Lodge.