The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is far from over as the Osun State chapter of the party has called on the national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, as well as other party leaders, not to recognise the adoption of Professor Wale Oladipo, as the acting national secretary of the party following the sack of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola by a court ruling which left the seat vacant.
Prof. Oladipo, a nuclear physicist, was adopted weekend by the South-west zone of the PDP at an extra-ordinary meeting in Ibadan.
But the state chapter of the party from 30 local government areas of Osun state, called on the national leadership of the PDP to ignore the purported selection on the ground of unconstitutionality.
Making their stance known in a letter jointly signed by the party’s representatives from the local councils, they requested that “the national chairman of our party, as well as all organs of our party should discountenance the purported selection of Professor Wale Oladipo as the acting national secretary of the PDP on the grounds that the process leading to his selection is unconstitutional.”
According to the party, “there was no advertised notice of meeting stating the appointment/selection/election of an acting national secretary as an item on the agenda,” while “there was no meeting of the Osun State PDP executive, leaders or stakeholders where a decision was taken to field Professor Wale Oladipo as acting national secretary or any position for that matter at the purported zonal PDP meeting.”
The letter further raised doubts on the process that produced Prof. Oladipo as the acting national secretary of the party, by noting that in preparation for the mini convention, other members of the party, who have already obtained nominations forms, were not allowed to participate in the process.
They further added that selecting Prof. Oladipo would compromise the process leading to the emergence of the Osun State PDP gubernatorial candidate, because Oladipo was the chairman of the Senator Iyiola Omisore campaign organisation for the past two years.
Consequently, the party representatives called on the national headquarters to only recognize a candidate from Osun State, whose selection was made open, transparent and fair to all interested parties.
