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Anenih, Ogbemudia suspended
• ‘Not possible’
NDIDI OKAFOR (Dep. Pol. Editor) and VINCENT ADEKOYE, Benin
CRISIS
rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State assumed a new dimension
yesterday as a faction in the party led by Gov. Lucky Igbinedion suspended Chief
Tony Anenih and other top shots.
Besides Chief Anenih, who is the acting
Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, the faction also hammered the former governor
of defunct Bendel State and a PDP stalwart, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, the state
chairman, Prince Solomon Aguele and his deputy, Chief Bruno, Oshiokpehai.
They were handed a seven-day deadline to
close down the new state secretariat of PDP which they opened last Saturday.
However, Ogbemudia swiftly reacted to the
development saying the said suspension "is null and void."
He told Daily Champion over the
telephone that those who met and allegedly suspended him and the others were not
members of the Edo State executive of the PDP.
A group claiming to be Anenih faction had
last weekend opened a parallel secrtariat thereby deepening the feud between
Gov. Igbinedion and Chief Anenih.
The parallel secretariat, located few
meters away from the old one that is situated at Okada House was commissiooned
by Chief Anenih amidst heavy security presence. The development climaxed the
threat by the Anenih faction to pull out of the party secretariat.
Rising from its extraordinary state
meeting in Benin yesterday, which was attended by the governor, his deputy and
Speaker of the House of Assembly, the party said the action of Chief Anenih and
the other suspended members amounted to flagrant disregard for the higher
authority of the party and its constitution.
Giving the situation report of the party
before announcing the suspension order, the state PDP’s Legal Adviser, Mr. A.
Osayonmwanbo said the suspended members contravened Articles 16 and 9 of the
party constitution.
He said: "They have disobeyed the National
chairman of the party who barred them from opening another office of the party
in the state.
"They have committed an unauthorised
publicity of the dispute of the party and also in the process created a parallel
organ.
"They have also factionalised the party in
the state and have belonged to other group contrary to the provision of the
party’s constitution."
Motion for the suspension was moved by
Alhaji Usman Shangadi, PDP chairman, Etsakor West, and was seconded by Mr. Peter
Okoh, the state Assistant Secretary.
Like what happened last Saturday, a
detachment of armed policemen was drafted to take over the entire city
yesterday.
Vehicular activities were impaired for
several hours as the Uselu-Lagos road was closed to traffic.
The party also appointed Alhaji Shangadi
to act as the state chairman of the party while Mr. Simeon Omafonmwan was picked
to act as deputy chairman.
However, describing the said suspension as
unconstitutional, Ogbemudia pointed out that those who took part in the meeting
were "ward chairmen and their executives, the council elected members,
commissioners, special assistants to the governor and members of the state
Houses of Assembly. None of these are members of the state executive and so
their action is null and void and of no effect."
He describeds as ridiculous, the said
suspension of Chief Anenih who is the chairman of the Board of Trustees by ward
chairmen.
Asked what his next step would be he said,
"I will have to meet with my colleagues in the party."
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