PDP Governors Move to Reinstate Oyinlola

Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola

By Chuks Okocha
       
In a bid to reunite its South-west chapter, Peoples Democratic Party has commenced moves to reinstate Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Olabode Mustapha, and Mr. Segun Oni as its national secretary, national auditor, and national vice chairman for South-west, respectively, THISDAY has learnt.

The newly formed PDP Governors’ Forum, led by Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio, which is driving the reconciliation effort, also plans to restore the sacked South-west executive of the party. The forum, it is learnt, has also ordered the restoration of the dissolved PDP state executive in Adamawa State led by Mijijnwa Kaugama, pending the outcome of a presidential committee led by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, which is investigating the crisis in the state chapter.

Moreover, Mustapha has written to the PDP lawyer, Joe Gadzama (SAN), to hands off the appeal against his ouster, currently pending at the Court of Appeal in suit number CA/L/515/12: PDP and others vs. Chief (Engr) Adebayo Bayo and others.

Oyinlola had been sacked following a January 11 ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

THISDAY gathered that a PDP Governors’ Forum committee headed by the Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, with Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, and Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, as members, met with the aggrieved members of the party in the South-west on Thursday night at the Katsina State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, in Abuja to discuss the crisis in the zone.

Present at the meeting were Mustapha, Oni and members of his sacked executive, Senator Ayo Arise, Chief Segun Fasawe, a representative of Oyinlola. But there was no representation from the Dayo group, though Shema and his colleagues at the meeting pledged to get across to relevant parties that were absent.

A key objective of the reconciliation meeting, it was gathered, was to bring back Oyinlola as national secretary.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja is expected to rule on March 21 on a stay of execution filed by Oyinlola over his removal.

The NWC claimed its decisions were in obedience to court orders, principally, the Lagos Federal High Court ruling.

Though, the Court of Appeal in Lagos had on May 25 last year granted a stay of execution of the high court order, pending the determination of an appeal filed by the Oni executive. 

But it was gathered that following a March 6 national caucus meeting of PDP that took place at the presidential villa, it was resolved that as part of efforts to reunify the party, the new chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, should reach out to aggrieved members. The national caucus also set up a six-man committee under the chairmanship of Anenih to reach out to Obasanjo and the former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma.

According to one of those that attended the Thursday meeting in Abuja, efforts are being made to persuade the Dayo and Kashimu group, which is opposed to Obasanjo, to withdraw their suit to enable Oyinlola return to office as national secretary.

According to the source, “This is one of the various ways to reconcile with Obasanjo. You cannot make him naked in the public by removing all his political associates in the South-west zone and claim that you are reconciling with him.”

Meanwhile, Mustapha has written to the PDP lawyer, Gadzama, directing him to withdraw his representation as his counsel in the suit before the Court of Appeal. In a letter dated March 7, 2013, Mustapha said he had sworn to an affidavit that Gadzama did not get his consent to represent him and, therefore, had no right to file for the withdrawal of his appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Though, Mustapha agreed that there was a mutual agreement in the past, he said PDP would not serve his interest, saying he wants to vindicate his name and person.