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By Chukwudi Nweje
Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has ratified the suspension of its Chairman, Philip Aivoji, and his deputy, Tai Benedict, pending the outcome of court cases.
Aivoji and Benedict were suspended respectively by their ward executives on April 14 over alleged gross violation of the party’s constitution.
The party’s Publicity Secretary in Lagos State, Hakeem Amode, stated, yesterday, in Lagos that the State Working Committee (SWC) reached the resolution after appraising the outcome of 2023 general election.
He said at a meeting, yesterday, the committee deliberated on saving the soul of the main opposition party in the state.
He added that the committee consequently confirmed Lagos PDP Vice Chairman (West senatorial district), Sunday Olaifa, as acting chairman, pending the outcome of court cases.
He said the committee settled for Olaifa being the vice chairman from the suspended chairman’s senatorial district.
Amode said the committee also constituted a seven-man disciplinary committee to look into all matters affecting the suspended officials.
Members of the disciplinary committee are Abayomi Kuye (chairman), Esther Egbi (secretary), Isiaka Shodiya, M. A. Coker, Kayode Ariwayo, Femi Oluokun and Segun Oriyomi.
Amode added that the post-election disciplinary committee was expected to revert to the SWC one week from the date of its constitution.
SWC members at the meeting were Olaifa, Agboola Akinpelu (youth leader), Ismail Olatunji (auditor) and Adio Salami (organising secretary) and Amode.
“The five members in attendance constitute the majority of the nine members in the swc out of the original 14 members that can take the decision.
“Three of the original 14 members had decamped to All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby reducing the membership of the swc to 11.
“The embattled chairman and his deputy were part of the 11 remaining members and since they can’t adjudicate in their own case, only nine members were left to take decisions.
Some Lagos PDP leaders abandoned the party’s governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, on the eve of the March 18 gubernatorial election to support either the Labour Party (LP) or the APC.
The development was believed to have contributed to Adediran coming a distant third behind the winner, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of APC.
and the first runner up, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the LP.
Crisis is also rocking PDP at the national level with the suspension of its national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, shortly after the February 25 and March 18 elections.
