LAGOS State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has elected Engineer Deji Doherty as chairman as its chairman, while it also voted others to fill the positions of Vice-Chairman, Central Senatorial District; State Organising Secretary, Assistant State Organising Secretary, State Legal Adviser, Assistant State Legal Adviser, Assistant State Secretary, Assistant State Publicity Secretary as well as chairmen for Apapa and Badagry Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The election, which went on peacefully on Wednesday at Maryland area of the state, and supervised by Senator Ben Obi led three-man team sent by the National Working Committee (NWC) held against the court injunction obtained on Tuesday that the exercise should not hold and that the status quo must be maintained.
Other members of the three-man committee included Muktar Ahmed, as secretary and Senator Biodun Olujimi, member, who was unavoidably absent, as she was being sworn in on Wednesday at the Senate, having gotten Appeal Court judgement in her favour.
According to Senator Obi, 68 delegates were approved by NWC of the party for the exercise but only 45 delegates eventually voted, saying the election was conducted for the purpose of filing eight vacant positions and two Local government chairmanship seats in the state.
ALSO READ: FG plans total ban on importation of steel products
The election witnessed the participation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who supervised the accreditation of delegates, while three candidates contested for the position of chairman, with Doherty garnering 27 votes to emerge, winner.
Omotanwa Kudirat, who came second, scored 21 votes, while Adejumo Ajegbe was disqualified for failure to have resigned his position as Assistant State Vice- Chairman, Lagos West Senatorial Zone, seven days before the election.
The positions of State Legal Adviser, Assistant State Legal Adviser and Assistant State Organising Secretary were contested by Muyideen Tejumade, Olalekan Akeem and Adeniyi Ademola Rotimi respectively and were all unanimously returned elected.
Other winners at the election included Akojemu Bidemi Florence for chairman Badagry LGA, who scored 38 votes; Kolawole Mike, for Apapa LGA (41 votes), Amode Akeem for State Organizing Secretary (34 votes), Showole Olusegun Jubril, Vice Chairman, Central Senatorial District (34 votes), Assistant State Secretary, Olayinka Dada (37 votes).
Obi, while speaking, urged every party member to give the new executive the needed support, even as he noted that it was not possible for the majority of the people to be on the same pedestal.
According to him, the exercise was the beginning of a journey for those who had won, charging those who emerged victorious not to undermine other contestants.
Doherty on his part said that with the new executive in place, it was a new beginning and a new chapter in the history of Lagos PDP, appealing to all members to roll up their sleeves for work towards 2023.
Reacting, Dr Adegbola Dominic, maintained that he still stood by his words that he remained the chairman of PDP in the state, describing those who were saying or acting otherwise as jokers.
Dominic, who spoke on the telephone with Tribune Online, further described the Wednesday’s exercise as a nullity and a contempt of court based on the injunction of the court restraining them from going ahead with the election, saying that the lawyers and the court knew what to do in that regard.
The PDP chieftain maintained that parties to the suit were definitely returning to court on Monday, saying that was why he was not stressing himself over the matter that was clearly before the court.
“They are all jokers, they have acted in clear contempt of court. That’s why I am not stressing myself. The lawyers know what to do and the court also knows what to do. The parties to the suit would all be there in the court on Monday,” he said.