In defiance of the national secretariat’s rejection of the suspension of its Chairman, the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a decisive step by appointing an acting chairman to replace Fatai Adams.
Following a meeting on Thursday, the State Executive Council of the Ondo PDP ratified Tola Alabere as the acting State Chairman of the party. Alabere, who previously held the position of Vice Chairman, now assumes the role in lieu of the suspended Mr. Adams.
The suspension of Mr. Adams, allegedly for anti-party activities, was announced by the state working committee on Tuesday. Nine out of the 12 committee members reached the decision to suspend him and subsequently instructed him to submit himself to a disciplinary committee for further investigations.
However, the National Secretariat intervened, overruling the state executive’s decision and deeming the suspension a violation of the party’s constitution. Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary, issued a statement describing Mr. Adams’ suspension as “illegal,” asserting that it did not adhere to the party’s constitutional provisions.
“The NWC declares the said suspension as null and void and of no effect, not being consistent with provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017) and laid down Rules,” stated Mr. Ologunagba, emphasizing that the state working committee lacked the authority to suspend a state chairman without proper recourse to the National Working Committee (NWC), as stipulated by the party’s constitution.
In response, Kennedy Peretei, the spokesman for the Ondo State PDP, rejected Mr. Ologunagba’s intervention, asserting that the party, at all levels, possesses the authority to discipline its members. Mr. Peretei maintained that the decision to appoint Mr. Alabere followed due process and aligned with the party’s constitution.
Meanwhile, Mr. Adams has insisted that he remains the Chairman of the party, despite the actions taken by the state executive council members. The internal strife within the Ondo PDP continues to unfold, raising questions about the resolution of the leadership dispute in the coming days.
