S/West PDP caretaker committee suspends chairman

Our Reporter

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) South West Zonal Caretaker Committee has suspended its chairman, Dayo Ogungbenro, over alleged negligence of duty.

It accused Ogungbenro of failing to call any meeting since he was appointed.

Seven out of the12 committee members, who suspended the chairman, also called on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to appoint another chairman, who will be alive to his duties to pilot the affairs of the party in the zone pending the conduct of the zonal congress.

Rising from its meeting in Ibadan, Oyo on Monday, the seven members, including Zonal Secretary, Hon. Daisi Akintan, Mrs Funmilayo Ogun, Hon. Ayobola Fadeyi- Awolowo, Prince Nekan Olateru- Olagbegi, Hon Wahab Owokoniran, Alhaji Mustapha Sikiru and Hon. Martins Olu- Abiloye, insisted that on no account will they sit in any meeting with the suspended chairman.

The meeting was also attended by Engr Adedeji Doherty, Hon Sikirulai Ogundele, Hon. Sunday Bisi and Chief Bisi Kolawole, Chairmen of Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti States respectively.

They said: “The Chairman, Dayo Ogungbenro, had abdicated his responsibilities. He has not called any meeting since the Caretaker Committee was appointed, thus making the party to lack direction.

“Even when we had elections in Ondo and Lagos States, the Chairman did not call any meeting to plan for the elections, hence the abysmal performance of the party.”

Also, in its bid for the party to have effective media and publicity, the meeting appointed Mr. Lere Olayinka as a spokesperson for the PDP in the southwest zone.

They said the party, being in the opposition in the zone, needed a vibrant media and Olayinka, fits the bill.

On the reconciliation by former Osun Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the meeting said no such reconciliation committee was known to the party.

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“To the best of our knowledge, Prince Oyinlola only accepted to run a political errand for Governor Seyi Makinde, being a contractor in Oyo State. His so-called reconciliation committee is not only self-serving but represents personal interest and dead on arrival.

“As far as we are concerned, the former governor, being a decampee from the APC, is on his own because no one can be a judge in his own case.”

The meeting called on PDP members in the zone to shun any meeting called by Prince Oyinlola and cautioned him to be mindful of bringing APC divide and rule culture to the PDP.

They said the committee set up for the purpose of reconciliation and settlement of all other sundry issues in the party in the zone is led by Engr Femi Babalola with Chief Kolapo Ogunjobi, Barrister Ahmed Okandeji Mustapha, Chief Idowu Odeyemi and Chief Tunde Akindehin as members, while the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Diran Odeyemi, is the Secretary.

The zone has mandated the Babalola led reconciliation committee to work in collaboration with the National Reconciliation Committee set up by the National Working Committee of the party.