The war of attrition between President Goodluck Jonathan and his erstwhile benefactor and former President Olusegun Obasanjo took a new twist as the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday, nullified the South West zonal congress of the party.
Also sent packing is the pro-Obasanjo factional executive of the PDP in Ogun led by Dipo Odunjinrin.
By implication, the entire executive of the party at the zonal level, led by former Governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni, has been sacked.
National Auditor of the PDP, Bode Mustapha, who had been expelled by a faction of the party about 10 days ago also ceases to hold that position. Alhaji Fatai Adewole Adeyanju has been named in his place.
Mustapha was a product of the zonal congress of the PDP prior to the March 2012 National Convention of the party.
Obasanjo is believed to have installed the zonal executive of the PDP including the sacked National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
The decision sacking the South West executive of the PDP came barely 24 hours after the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Bamanga Tukur declared open a reconciliatory meeting of the PDP leaders from the zone in Abuja.
As part of their yet-to-be released communiqué as at press time, the leaders of the party in the South West called on the national leadership of the PDP to 'reinstate Oyinlola by all necessary means possible'.
Oyinlola's sack four weeks ago came as a result of a suit instituted by a chieftain of the PDP from Ogun State, Buruji Kasamu who has been having a running battle with Obasanjo over the conduct of the zonal congress as well as the state congress in Ogun.
The NWC, which is opposing Oyinlola's suit challenging his removal by seeking a stay of execution order, has already replaced the former Osun state governor with Mr. Onwe Onwe who was the Deputy National Secretary.
Oyinlola was summarily sent packing by Tukur when Justice Adbul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja declared as illegal, his stay in office on the premise that the South West zonal congress that brought him into was faulted.
Though the judgment was delivered on a Friday, Tukur did not give Oyinlola the opportunity to appeal or seek a stay of execution order on it before he ordered Onwe to take over.
The move against Oyinlola was an apparent payback from Tukur who had felt slighted by the action of 10 members of the NWC led by Oyinlola who reversed the suspension of the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the Adamawa chapter of the party.
The NWC under the tutelage of Tukur had earlier suspended the Adamawa State SEC, and installed a caretaker committee filled with loyalists of Tukur as against the elected SEC which was dominated by loyalists of Governor Murtala Nyako.
However, as efforts to ensure the return of Oyinlola to his office intensified by stakeholders from the South West Zone, Tukur who loyal to Jonathan in the ongoing war with Obasanjo, played another joker yesterday when he caused the remnants of the former President' "boys" at the helm of affair of the party thrown out.
The statement sacking the South West PDP Executive, and signed by the party's National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, also stated:
"The Executive Committee constituted for the PDP in Ogun State at Congresses conducted by the Bashorun Dayo Soremi led harmonized Executive Committee for the Wards, Local Governments and in the State in March 2012 are valid Exco of the Party at the various levels in Ogun State and are entitled to their 4-years tenure.
"That the PDP is to organize a fresh South West Zonal Congress at which access is to be given to delegates elected at congresses conducted by or under the supervision of the Soremi-led Ogun State Executive and accept the candidacy, for offices zoned to Ogun State, of only the persons nominated at the said congresses for the said offices".
Only about 10 days ago, Obasanjo's loyalists, including the PDP Ogun governorship candidate in the last general elections, Gen. Adetunji Olurin (rtd), Mustapha, Odunjinrin and a few others were expelled from the party by the Dayo Soremi faction.
The NWC of the PDP also on Friday announced the constitution of a 17-member caretaker committee headed by Barrister Ishola Filani to pilot the affairs of the Ogun State chapter of the party pending the conduct of state congresses.
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