The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, on Monday, suspended a governorship aspirant, Mr Jimi Lawal, for conducting and participating in what it described as an “illegal” governorship primary election.
The State Secretary of the party, Sunday Solarin, at a press conference held at the party’s secretariat in Abeokuta, announced his suspension alongside four others.
Those suspended were Bola Odunmosun (Financial Secretary); Fasiu Ajadi; Kola Akinyemi and Tope Asiru, the party chairman of Ijebu North-East Local Government.
Solarin noted that the governorship aspirant and four others were suspended for violating the constitution of the party by conducting and participating in an “illegal” governorship primary election which was not authorised by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
He explained that the affected party members have been suspended for one month pending the outcome of the disciplinary committee which would be set up to review their actions.
He said the party leadership condemned their actions, saying “all of these shenanigans will be put to bed and we have resolved that the principal actors of the illegal primary election will be exposed. They have been found to have transgressed the laws of the party and their punishment will be given.
“We were informed that an Illegal congress was going to happen today and that history has it as of this afternoon that some people gathered somewhere to carry out an action that is not constitutionally or statutorily assigned to them.
“We have also resolved today that Otunba Jimi Lawal is also going to be on suspension with immediate effect because he participated actively in a congress not conducted by the State Executives of the party, an action which has been found to bring the party into disrepute.
“We must also emphasise the fact that in a house where discipline is missing definitely such a house will not raise good children and they are not going to raise good ambassadors for that family.
“Because PDP is a house that believes in the rule of law, it is a house built by our forefathers, managed by all of us we are not going to open our eyes and allow some dissidence to destroy the house and therefore we must tow the path of discipline by showing them the way, so they are suspended for the next one month in which case the disciplinary committee will be set up and they will be invited to come and explain the action they took, the reason why their suspension will not be elongated or the reason why it will not be translated to expulsion”.