Ogun PDP: Fresh concerns as Kashamu sues for peace

Following Senator Buruji Kashamu’s request to be part of the ongoing reconciliation moves for Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, ‘DARE ODUFOWOKAN, Assistant Editor, reports that stakeholders are worried that the envisaged peace in the state chapter may be long in coming

When will the dust being raised by the ongoing battle of political titans within the Ogun State chapter of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) settle? Are the gladiators truly battle weary as they now claim? What will become of the current reconciliatory moves to save the party in the state? Can the warring factions find meeting points in their avowed displeasure with one another? Will peace ever return to Ogun PDP? These, and many more, are questions begging for answers as a fresh twist is once again introduced into the crisis rocking the party.

Just as it appeared that the faction led by Senator Buruji Kashamu may have lost out in the struggle for the post-reconciliation soul of the PDP in Ogun State, a new twist was introduced into the leadership tussle bedeviling the party as Kashamu at the weekend, announced the readiness of his group to partake in the talks that will lead to ‘genuine’ peace in the state chapter of the opposition party. This move, inside sources told The Nation, may have thrown spanners into the calculations of some PDP chieftains within and outside the state.

Before his announcement last Thursday, Kashamu and his faction had suffered terrible political blows in the ongoing political battle that saw them losing many of their trusted front liners to the other faction led by Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu. Chiefs among these were the Bayo Dayo and Semiu Shodipo, state chairman and secretary of the party respectively. Both were staunch allies of Kashamu’s before their sudden decisions to support the peace initiatives of Prince Uche Secondus, the National Chairman of the party and Adebutu.

Sources within the various camps revealed to The Nation that the sudden volte face by Kashamu came to most of his rivals within the party as a surprise, especially his decision to go public with his new stance. According to a member of the NWC from the state, ‘it will now be difficult for the national leadership of the party to midwife any genuine peace process without carrying Kashamu and his supporters along. He has made it known to the whole world that he is not refusing to be reconciled. Now, we must tread carefully.”

Another party leader, who is a strong supporter of the Adebutu faction of the party, also suspects Kashamu’s new move as another way of stalling the peace move in the state chapter. According to the former House of Representatives member, Kashamu is not after genuine peace but is merely looking for a way of ensuring that the peace efforts fail again. He accuses the former Ogun East Senator of playing the politics of bitterness that usually make him to fight without considering the interest of the party at all.

“This announcement by Kashamu is merely another attempt to truncate the peace moves being championed by the NWC of our great party. He has severally said his faction will not be part of the reconciliation until he lost control of the party when Bayo Dayo and Semiu Shodipo abandoned him. Now he wants to be part of the process but on certain conditions. A look at his conditions will tell you what he is up to. He should be ignored if we truly want peace in Ogun PDP. Any attempt to consider him will draw us back,” he warned.

Kashamu’s new stance

Kashamu, who made it clear he will not be seeking any elective office again, while announcing his new position in a statement he personally signed at the weekend, has clearly stated that he is ready to reconcile and work with aggrieved members of the party in the state to ensure a stronger and more united state chapter of the PDP in Ogun State. The senator called on all aggrieved members of the party to come together to forge a strong front by forgiving one another irrespective of the events of the past. He said there can be no genuine peace in the party unless all stakeholders are carried along.

“I have the mandate of all the altruistic leaders and elders of the party in Ogun State to declare once again that we are willing, ready and available for genuine reconciliation that will reposition our party and move it forward. Let me also publicly declare that I have no interest in any elective position, including the governorship and therefore have no reason to oppose the ambition of any member of the party aspiring to be governor of the state because I know that all powers belong to the Almighty Allah. My fight has always been against illegalities, injustice and imposition.

“It should also be borne in mind that the PDP as well as our respectable national and zonal leaders belong to all of us. While trying to protect our various interests, we may have roughened feathers in the past. But, that does not mean we cannot bury the hatchet and move ahead. As it is said, ‘to err is human and to forgive is divine’. Henceforth, we will all be attending meetings called by the national and zonal leadership of our party in order to forge a more united front,” the PDP gubernatorial candidate for the 2019 general election said.

Speaking further, Kashamu however insisted that he will resist any peace process that has Dayo and Sodipo as leaders of the PDP in the state because, according to him, the duo had lost their powers to speak on behalf of the party having been suspended by the proper organs of the party. Kashamu added that he has the mandate of all concerned chieftains and members of the party across the state to insist on the exclusion of the former state chairman and secretary from any reconciliation move by any arm of the party.

“It is most ludicrous that Engr. Adebayo Dayo and Semiu Sodipo who are parading themselves as genuine members of the Ogun State PDP Executive Committee recently suspended each other at different times. While the Dayo-led State Exco suspended Sodipo on the 28th of February, 2020; Sodipo and former members of the State Exco suspended Dayo on the 29th of February, 2020. Dayo’s suspension was even ratified by the South West Zonal Committee of our great party on the 3rd of March, 2020. Afterwards, Dayo’s fate was literally sealed on the 26th of March, 2020 when he was suspended by the authentic State Executive Committee of our party.

“It was the same State Exco members that sat with him to suspend Sodipo in the first instance. How then can he now turn round to deny the same Exco? Indeed, Dayo in a letter dated 3rd of March, 2020 to TRLP Law firm, listed the names of the authentic Ogun State PDP Executive Committee. He also attached several letters which showed former state officers who either resigned to contest elections or left for another party and were subsequently replaced. Some of the letters were jointly signed by Dayo and Sodipo while others were signed by either of them.

“All these facts have been deposed to in affidavits filed in Suit No. FHC/AB/CS/24/2020 in a case instituted by Dayo (in his capacity as the then Chairman) alongside other members of the State Executive Committee. For Dayo, Sodipo and their co-travelers to be claiming that they are the authentic State Exco shows the level of their desperation, deceit and fraudulent tendencies which are geared towards causing chaos in Ogun State. This has now become a matter for investigation by the relevant security agencies,” Kashamu explained.

Fresh concerns

Though Chief Bayo Dayo could not be reached for his position on the new development as calls to his telephone lines weren’t successful, sources close to his faction of the party told The Nation that Buruji Kashamu’s latest attempt to stop the reconciliation moves in the party will be resisted. “All he said mean just one thing  he has realised that without Dayo and Sodipo, he is actually without any faction or group of the PDP in Ogun State. Where are the people he is leading as we speak? He is alone without followers.

“That is why he wants to create new issues. He just wants to be in the news and by so doing, create impressions that there are new problems in Ogun PDP. We will ignore him this time as we are determined to see through the peace deal being midwifed by our national chairman. For the avoidance of doubt, Chief Bayo Dayo remains the state chairman of the PDP in Ogun State and we are working out modalities to iron out grey areas between us and the Sodipo group. Soon, we will all be speaking as one,” our source added.

Speaking to The Nation, an aide of Hon. Adebutu, while saying he wasn’t authorised to speak on the matter, said the party leader and other chieftains are currently studying Kashamu’s new position as regards peace in Ogun PDP. “We have read the release by Senator Kashamu and our leaders are currently studying it with a view to taking decisions over it. But it is not something any serious politician will rush to decide on. The crisis in Ogun PDP is a queer one, and in dealing with Kashamu, we are going to be very careful and realistic,” he said.

Sources at the national secretariat of the party also revealed serious concern over the new twist. According to a national officer of the party from the Southwest, the NWC may have to meet to decide on how to approach Kashamu’s olive branch. “Largely, our concern is about the possibility of fresh litigations whichever way we handle his request to be included in the peace deals. We all know of Kashamu’s penchant to approach the court at the slightest opportunity. We want to try as much as possible not to give him a ground to do that this time.

“Some people are already saying his public letter may have been written on the advice of legal practitioners who probably told him what to do in case we ignore him and go ahead with the reconciliation efforts without his input. They may also have told him what to do once we start relating with him as a stakeholder in the process despite his subsisting suspension from the party. These and many more are reasons why we cannot just take a decision on his request for inclusion in the ongoing peace process in Ogun PDP,’ our source said.

It is now left to be seen how Kashamu’s sudden turn around will rub off on the quest for lasting peace in PDP’s troubled Ogun State chapter. Will Kashamu be allowed to be part of the peace process? What will become of Dayo, Sodipo and others currently being opposed by Kashamu, their erstwhile political leader? Will Adebutu and others welcome Kashamu back into the fold comfortably? How will Secondus and his team of peace makers mend the many broken fences of Ogun PDP to once again build a formidable fortress? Time, and only time, can answer these questions and many more.