Politics: PDP elders want Adagunodo reinstated as chairman

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:50 pm

The People’s Democratic Party Elders’ Caucus in Osun State has urged the National Working Committee (NWC) and the highest decision making bodies of the party to resolve the internal crisis in the party so that the party could live up to expectations in the coming elections.

The caucus, at an emergency meeting convened at the instance of its Deputy Chairman, Chief Dele Faseru, appealed to the leadership of the party to allow Hon. Olasoji Adagunodo complete the rest of his term saying that the petition bothering on malfeasance, maladministration and anti-party activities leveled against him were “spurious.”

In a communique signed and forwarded to pressmen in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, Tuesday, High Chief Dele Faseru described the current state of the party as a toxic situation which requires a careful management.

The communique, a copy of which was forwarded to the national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus reads in part; “the recent development in the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun State Chapter, in respect of the step-aside order placed on Hon. Olasoji Adagunodo as the Osun State PDP Chairman elicited quality reactions across the party echelons throughout the State.”

“The issues raised in the letter of step aside alleging ‘malefeasance, maladministration and anti-party activities’ and we found out that all the allegations were indeed spurious. But that is not the core concern of the Ijesa PDP Elders’ Caucus at the moment.

“Our interest is the sustainance of the unity of purpose, stability and ultimate electioneering success of the party in the State, especially that we are mindful of the fact that in no time, another rounds of elections are around the corner.

“The PDP Elders in Ijesaland and across the State are fully aware of the general pulse of the polity that are positively on the side of our party. Hence, the current toxic situation requires careful management so we will not fall foul political profligacy and tactlessness.

“It is also on record that Hon. Soji Adagunodo has served the party diligently since assumption of office since 25th of March, 2018 with strings of electoral successes. In 2017, our party defeated the then sitting Governor and a fellow Ijesa compatriot at the Osun West Senatorial Bye-election of July 8th, 2017 which produced Senator Ademola Adeleke. The results of the 2018 Gubernatorial election under his watch is in the public domain as testimonial of remarkable efforts which were thwarted by the judicial technicalities of the Appellate and Supreme courts.

“It is also important to let you know that the leadership of our party under Hon. Olasoji Adagunodo took our party from a deficit electoral defeat of over 100,000 votes when PDP was in power at the centre with all the machineries of government to a winning political party against the incumbent APC government with over 300+ votes before that inglorious declaration of inconclusiveness during the governorship polls of September 22nd, 2018, the rest is history.

“Subsequently, during the 2019 General Elections, the Senatorial Candidate of the PDP (Senator Adenigba Fadahunsi) was returned victorious. The Federal House of Representatives from his home Federal constituency, Hon. Oluwole Oke was also returned. To cap it all, one of the three PDP House of Assembly members in the State is from Obokun State Constituency. Hon. Soji Adagunodo hails from all these three political strongholds.

“In the light of the foregoing, the extraordinary emergency meeting arrived at the following communiqué for your attention and necessary actions:

“We plead with the National Working Committee (NWC) and the highest decision taking bodies of our party to kindly resolve this issue amicably by setting aside the step aside order on Hon. Olasoji Adagunodo as the Chairman, PDP Osun State Chapter, to enable him complete the rest of his term.

“We are by this statements re-establishing our steadfast commitments and unalloyed supports for the Party leadershipfor the maintenance and sustenance of the unity, stability and renewed electoral successes of our Party in Osun State and in the rest of the country as a whole.

“In addition, we are using this opportunity to enjoin our National Leadership, particularly the NWC to as a matter of urgency to set machinery in motion to wade in into some undercurrent internal crisis within the party in Osun State for the Party to improve on our past successes. This will go a long way to put us as a Party in a good stead for electoral successes ahead of the 2022 and 2023 elections.”

(PMNEWS)