New Ogun PDP exco sacks Kashamu loyalists from party secretariat

….Laments destruction of over N5m secretariat equipment
The newly elected executives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun state on Monday took over the secretariat located along President Boulevard, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta on Monday.

They were elected on Saturday during the state congress conducted by the chairman of South-West zone of the party, Mr. Eddy Olafeso.

While taking over the party secretariat, the new state party chairman, Hon. Sikirulahi Ogundele, was also joined by some former local government chairmen among other prominent party leaders in the state.

When our reporter visited the secretariat, men of the Special Anti-robbery Squad who were heavily armed were sighted watching over the building.

The chairman who spoke with journalists lamented that the over N5million secretariat equipment such as computers, fans among others, have been vandalized and stolen.

Briefing journalists shortly after inspecting the party secretariat, the chairman said the decision to take possession of the secretariat by the new executive was a directive from the national secretariat of the party.

Ogundele added that contrary to general apprehension, the takeover was peaceful and violent free noting that the national body of the party had written to security agencies to provide the necessary cover for the state exco.

His words: “We have come to take over the state PDP secretariat, this is because there was a directive from the national secretariat to do so. We did that peacefully.

Like I have said that at the appropriate time, we will take over the party secretariat from Bayo Dayo and his co-travelers.

“There was no resistance whatsoever and the exercise has been done without recourse to any form of violence or security breach. What we did was to take what rightly belonged to us”, Ogundele said.

He, however, alleged that property and materials of the secretariat worth over N5m, were either vandalized or carted away by the sacked exco.

According to him, equipment like computer, sound system and others, were discovered to have been stolen.

“We have moved around the complex and we discovered that property belonging to the party secretariat, had either been vandalized or carted away. Computers and sound equipment, were among major property carted away by Bayo Dayo people”, Ogundele stated.

The party chairman, who hinted that a legal action may be taken against the vandals, however, urged the ousted state exco to show spirit of sportsmanship and come back into the party submitting “despite the fact that we are now in charge of the PDP in Ogun State,

we still extend our hand of fellowship to all the aggrieved members of our dear party, particularly those in Dayo’s camp”.

But reacting on behalf of the Bayo Dayo group, the publicity secretary of the sacked executive, Bolaji Adeniji, said the takeover was illegal and invasion by a dissident group in the Ogun state PDP.

According to him, the Ogundele led exco, who emerged at a congress, which a magistrate court had ordered not to take place, invaded the party secretariat with touts and chased away the staff of the party secretariat.

He, however, said that in contrary to Ogundele’s claim, property of the secretariat was not vandalized and vowed that Bayo Dayo led exco, whose mandate expires in 2020, will return to the secretariat in the next 24 hours, to enforce its fundamental right

Abiodun Taiwo, Abeokuta