Daily Independent Online.
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Tuesday, August 24, 2004.
Fresh crisis brews in Edo PDP
By Benson Agwu
Correspondent, Benin City
A high profile power play is again to assume its
place in the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Edo State
chapter.
This follows the challenge of the recent counter
directive by Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, the party’s national secretary,
that the expulsion of Deacon Bayo Ogbomo (the state secretary of the party) by
the party be rescinded.
Ogbulafor, in a purported letter addressed to Prince
Solomon Aguele, state chairman of the party, reaffirmed that the expulsion of a
member of the state executive committee or any other officer for that matter
must follow the process laid down in the party constitution.
This, he stated, has not been done and so Ogbomo, who
was purportedly deposed as the Edo State secretary of PDP early this year,
remains the state secretary.
It would be recalled that the said Ogbomo was
reportedly kidnapped in March last year to an unknown destination and forced to
resign by one Chief Goddy Edosa, a PDP strongman in the state believed to be a
hitman for the state government.
Subsequently, after rigorous security
operatives’ investigations, Ogbomo was reinstated and later booted out in
an uncertain circumstance.
One Pristly Ediagbonya, the former deputy chief of
staff to Governor Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State, who hails from Ovia Southeast
as the state chief executive, was made to replace Ogbomo unceremoniously.
The matter that seemed to have been laid to rest
suddenly resurfaced with the recent counter directive of Ogbulafor. Responding,
the state legal adviser of the party, Mr A. Osayomulaubor, who said that the
removal of Ogbomo is a closed case, stressed that such counter directive from
Ogbulafor amounts to constitutional breach.
Relying on Article 16, Paragraphs B and C,
Osayomulaubor argued that Ogbomo was expelled by his ward and had the
opportunity in the constitution to appeal within 14 days to the immediate
higher organ of the party.
“This, he failed to do so he cannot originate
his appeal to you as an apex Supreme Court,” he said. “Having been
so expelled and the decision communicated to the state executive committee in
accordance with the provision of the party’s constitution, the state
working committee was at a meeting with the executive governor of Edo State
asked to forward a name replacing Deacon Ogbomo.”
The party legal adviser further explained:
“Consequently, the local government area party chairman in the area in
the senatorial district forwarded the name of Mr Pristly Ediagbonya as a
replacement for Ogbomo, thereby making the case of Ogbomo constitutionally
closed.”
“The issue of discipline of any member of the
party except members of the executive committee,” Osayomulaubor said,
“is the executive right of the affected committee of the appropriate
level and such disciplinary body has no right to impose any of the punishments
stated in the constitution.”
He stressed that the said Ogbomo is neither a member
of the national executive committee nor a public office holder as provided for
in Article 16, Paragraph C of the PDP constitution.
He challenged Ogbulafor saying, “I am inclined
to believe that you are probably not well informed about the case of Bayo
Ogbomo and of the constitutional limitations to the exercise of your power in
the matter.
“With the greatest respect, your directive in
this matter is incompetent and incapable of enforcement.
“The organ that expelled him was his Usen ward
and ratified by his Ovia Southwest Local Government and further ratified by Edo
South senatorial district under the distinguished headship of Dr Samuel
Ogbemudia and Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, who at a recent meeting approved Bayo
Ogbomo’s replacement by Mr Pristly Ediagbonya as the acting secretary,”
the legal adviser stated.
Observers
interviewed explained that in the exercise of the ward, the hierarchy of the
party at the local government and that of the state are supposed to be mere
recommendations to the national secretariat of the ruling PDP.
