Ekiti PDP removes chairman

Crisis has hit the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State as the Chairman, Chief Idowu Faleye, was removed by the State Executive Committee at a meeting held on Tuesday for alleged inefficiency.

Faleye, a loyalist of Governor Ayodele Fayose was also accused of failure to convene a meeting since he assumed office last year.

He was appointed in 2014 following the elevation of the then Chairman, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, to the position of the National Vice Chairman, Southwest of the PDP.

The SEC, which was said to have sacked the chairman without notifying the governor elected Mr. Olatunde Olatunde as the Acting Chairman pending ratification of his appointment by the National Executive Committee of the party.

Olatunde, who disclosed this to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, said appointing Faleye as the chairman was an error because he hailed from Ido Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government with the State Youth leader of the party.

But Faleye maintained that he was still the duly elected chairman asking journalists to ignore his purported resignation.

According to him, the issue is all about money, adding that his appointment has been ratified by the NEC because he led the state to the PDP National Convention last year and voted.

“The person is saying that at his own detriment. All the party leaders are behind me. The only misunderstanding we had was that they demanded for honorarium  for six months amounting to about N11m and I said I cannot sign the cheque without the approval of the governor,” he said.

Olatunde said Faleye was asked to resign after confronting him with the facts and that the decision had been transmitted to the Alhaji Adamu Muazu-led National Working Committee in Abuja through South West Zonal Committee.

He said, “We held the State Executive Committee’s meeting at our secretariat in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday where Chief Idowu Faleye was confronted with the fact that we made a mistake in his appointment and that he is not doing well among us.

“Besides, the SEC has yet to ratify his appointment. After a prolonged argument, he willingly stepped down.

“We follow Federal Character in the appointment in our party. We cannot appoint two different principal officers from the same ward, it is against our constitution. Faleye is from the same Ido Ward 1 where the State Youth Leader comes from. The SEC in its wisdom appointed me as the Acting Chairman.

Olaleye, who said the decision had not been communicated officially to Fayose, said it had nothing to do with the feud between the governor and the National Chairman.

“We don’t have to meddle into their affairs, they know how to settle themselves.

“Though, we have not breached any constitution by not confiding in the governor before taking the action because going by the Constitution of our party, there is a difference between governance and the party. The governor holds the governance but he is a PDP member under me.”

He added, “We are making a change for the betterment of the party. Those who had abandoned the party have started calling us since Tuesday promising to work with us. So I know that this will make our party to wax stronger.

“I don’t foresee any crisis, but if there are issues to settle, we won’t hesitate to do that. The issue on the ground is to reposition the party and make it stronger.”