Osun guber: PDP issues stern warning to aspirants, as Ojo insists on chairmanship

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has warned all the gubernatorial aspirants in the party to shun making public comments capable of bringing unnecessary the party into disrepute.

Making this known through its Publicity Secretary, Ayodeji Areola on Wednesday in Osogbo, the Osun PDP maintained that the recent utterances of one of its gubernatorial aspirants was uncharitable.

Areola advised all aspirants who were lacking in adequate knowledge of the party’s modus operandi to always seek clarifications before making public statements capable of misleading members and subjecting the party to undeserved ridicule.

While calling on its gubernatorial aspirants to live up to their high billings, the Publicity Secretary warned that incessant disparaging of activities of the party or other aspirants on the platform of the PDP will no longer be tolerated by the State Working Committee which has been constitutionally saddled with overseeing the affairs of the party in the State.

In his words, “The PDP in our dear State has suffered enough from misguided public misrepresentation of its activities coupled with acts of disguised sabotage and we at the State Working Committee level will no longer sit by and watch culprits drag the party down.

“The PDP urges all aspirants in its fold to go about their subtle campaigns without injuring the same platform on which they intend to realize their ambition.

“We wish to remind all our aspirants that the overall goal of the party to win the forthcoming Governorship Election in the State is paramount and nobody, no matter the status will be allowed to subject that to avoidable jeopardy.”

Areola advised all the contestants on the platform of the party to conduct themselves with utmost diligence and in line with the rules and constitution of the PDP.

Meanwhile, the suspended acting chairman of the PDP, Wale Ojo has described his reported suspension after a meeting presided over by the State Executive Committee on Tuesday as a ruse.

While asserting on Wednesday that the state executive committee’s suspension which affected him and some members was illegal, Ojo maintained that they lacked the power to convene or preside over the state executive meetings.

Describing the party’s state executive committee as supporters of one of the gubernatorial aspirants in the State, he remarked that it was disheartening that this was happening when peace was gradually being restored.

While declaring that whatever the group had done was illegal and of no effect, he disclosed that he was not ready to go to the trenches with anybody.

He added that the gathering, which was presided over by the State Publicity Secretary of the party, taking into the cognisance the dictates of the Court Judgment that was handed over to the party from the State High Court, Ife Division, was of no effect.

It will be recalled that some party officials and stakeholders in the 30 Local Governments and Area Office in the State had converged at the party’s secretariat in Osogbo on Friday to announce Barrister Wale Ojo as acting State chairman.

The legal committee of the state PDP headed by Niyi Owolade had, however, in a statement signed by Hashim Abioye, urged party members to ignore the development.

The committee asserted that Sunday Bisi remained the State PDP Chairman.