By Ikemefune Francis
The crisis rocking the Osun State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Monday deepened following the party leadership decision to formally issue queries to some of its State Working Committee and executive members respectively.
The notice of the query was made known in a memo signed by the state secretary of the party, Bola Ajao.
The officials affected by the query include: Barrister Wale Ojo – Osun East Senatorial Chairman, Alhaji Remi Arogundade – State Financial Secretary, Adepoju Yemi Joseph – State Assistant Secretary, Lase Longe – State Assistant Organising Secretary, Marcus Fadehan – Ex – Officio, Chief Sanmi Ogunyemi – Ex – Officio and Durojaye Isaac – Chairman – Ife East Local Government.
The signed query accused the aforementioned party officials of allegedly neglecting, abandoning and wilfully refusing to carry out their assigned constitutional duties, obligations and responsibilities since October, 2020.
Reacting, a member of the party in the state, Akin Adeyi, who noted that the development was not the first in the history of the party in the state, advised the party chairman, Sunday Bisi, to embark on meaningful efforts capable of repositioning the party for its participation in the governorship election as anything short of this will spell doom for them in the hands of genuine party members.
Adeyi recalled how, in a similar manner, on September 10, 2013, the then chairman of the party, Gani Olaoluwa, without any prior query, suspended certain members of the party.
Those suspended in 2013, according to him, included the former chairman of the party, Ademola Rasaq, the former party secretary, Yinka Adeojo, Soji Adagunodo, Rasaq Oyetunji, former chief driver to Oyinlola, former Chairman Ilesa West local government chairman, Ibukun Fadipe, former PDP factional chairman, Akomola Ayedaade and former chairman of Osogbo local government, Teslim Igbalaiye.
“Others were Dapo Ayodele and Bowade Oyewale, three ward chairmen in Ayedaade local government, Wards 5, 6 and 8, were advised not to parade themselves as ward chairmen.
“Three of its governorship aspirants, Messrs Wole Oke, Akinlabi Olasunkanmi and Fatai Akinbade, were given 24 hours to deny a statement credited to a former chairman of the party, Ademola Rasaq, that they were members of the new PDP. Fatai Akinbade, in his reaction to the development which was to later form the genesis of this protracted Osun PDP crisis, said the party chairman, Gani Olaoluwa lacked the leadership quality to administer the party. It is just a repeat of the ugly history and genesis of the Osun chapter of the party’s crisis.”
Meanwhile, one of those purportedly queried has dismissed the development as the joke of the year.
He went further to say it was a huge sign of confusion and, probably, one of the face-saving options left for Sunday Bisi and the state working committee of the party to have a candidate in the fast-approaching governorship election in the state after they have plunged the party into a shameful and disastrous situation.
Meanwhile, the queried officials were given 48 hours to respond to the query or risk stricter disciplinary measures.