The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has brought to an end the ambitions of Prof. Adewale Oladipo, Chief Okey Muo-Aroh and Eddy Olafeso to be part of the next leaders of the party as they have been disqualified from contesting in the forthcoming national convention.
Oladipo, a former national secretary of the party, was vying to become the national deputy chairman (south), Olafeso was contesting for the national publicity secretary while Muo-Aroh was going for the position of national secretary.
But they have now been stopped from pursuing their ambitions as they failed to satisfy the requirements set by the screening committee of the party.
The Chairman of PDP National Convention Committee and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday as the party unveiled its logo and emblem for the convention with the motto: “Come, let’s rescue Nigeria together.”
Giving the reasons for the disqualification while addressing reporters, Fintiri said “I want to tell you the three that could not meet the standard of the screening committee – Dr Olafeso Eddy Eniola, who initially put his interest to contest for the office of the National Publicity Secretary, and the other persons are Prof. Adewale Abiodun Oladipo and Barr. Okey Muo-Aroh.
“All these were disqualified for reason that they took the party to court. Their intentions also were to stop the national convention.
“So, if you have taken the party to court without exhausting the internal mechanism of settling whatever grievances, you have and you try to stop the convention, the committee felt you cannot also enjoy from the convention.
“Moreso the provision of section 51 sub 1L in our party Constitution has clearly spelt out that you must exhaust all the internal mechanisms in the party.
“The same constitution of our great party has also made a provision that if you have not exhausted section, 58 (1L), you can be punished under Section 59 (1e). So you can see that the steering committee has done what is needful of them.
“You must be disciplined in the party for us to survive. And I think we have to move away from the past as we are trying to open a new chapter for the party.”
Fintiri had earlier lamented that the nation is at a crossroads, saying that “as a nation, we are at the crossroads and we have to do the needful beginning from this convention to ensure that we get our best to steer us with their skills, with their experiences and their integrity, so that Nigerians can move forward.
“We have to rewrite all the mistakes that we have committed in the past. Our leaders have agreed that we made a mistake and they have apologized to Nigerians. And with this, I think we also need to bring people of high integrity to manage the affairs of the party and to get us winning the 2023 general elections, particularly the presidency.”
He said that despite the tight and challenges associated with this convention, the committee didn’t ask for an extension of time, adding that “we expect our members across the country to also make sacrifices and put time into this convention because it is very key for the survival of our party.
“We need to revamp, reengineer this party and position it into winning spirit. This, I believe we will achieve.”
He disclosed that the screening committee has completed and submitted its report, adding, “31 candidates have indicated interest to contest for all the positions across from the National Chairman to the least position. 27 of them have been cleared, one has withdrawn and three have been disqualified.
“If they have any reason not to agree with why they were disqualified, this party is very democratic. You have the opportunity tomorrow to appear before the Appeal Committee, and they may be considered, they may not be considered, depending on the reason they may be putting forth. But I’m satisfied with the job done by the screening committee.
“It has paved the way for us to move forward. I assure you, on 30/31 we will have one of the best, open, transparent, and democratic convention in the history of this country.
“We’re still working on the delegates list. There are some litigations coming along with this, so we have to be sure that we have a clean list of delegates. It will be very difficult at the moment to speak about the actual number of delegates that will be attending this convention, but the basic I can give you at the moment is that not less than 4000 delegates will be in attendance at this 2021 convention.
In his reaction. to his disqualification, Muo-Aroh said that since he became a member of PDP in 1999, he has never taken the party to court, even when he was disqualified sometimes ago while contesting for the position of National Publicity Secretary.
He said he will appear before the appeal committee on Saturday, to press his case for reinstatement in the race.
“I have been in the party since 1999 and I have not taken the party to court before. I am just coming from the Supreme Court where I went to defend our candidate for the Anambra State governorship candidate. I have collected my certificate and I will do the needful,” he stated.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.
PDP disqualifies Oladipo, Olafeso, Muo-Aroh | PDP disqualifies Oladipo, Olafeso, Muo-Aroh | PDP disqualifies Oladipo, Olafeso, Muo-Aroh | PDP disqualifies Oladipo, Olafeso, Muo-Aroh
and then