Tukur condemns Fayose’s suspension from PDP, says suspension “cannot stand”

The National Chairman chastised the Ekiti PDP chairman over the suspension.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bamanga Tukur, has described as an ‘affront’ the suspension of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, from the party.

This is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, by Oliver Okpala, the Special Assistant on Media to the party’s National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur.

Mr. Tukur accused the chairman of the Ekiti State PDP, Makanjuola Ogundipe, of suspending the former governor without the consent of the party’s national leadership.

He expressed surprise that such a far reaching decision involving a former governor and a gubernatorial aspirant of the party was taken without due consideration and the consent of the party’s leadership.

The statement noted that some Ekiti elders in company of the former governor had complained of the development during an earlier visit to the party’s national chairman.

Mr. Tukur wondered why the decision was taken in a hurry when he had promised to look into it.

“It is the view of the national chairman that the state executive haven reported the matter would have allowed the national leadership to look into it and take a decision before the hurried suspension,’’ it stated.

The statement maintained that the decision of the chairman of the state chapter of the party to suspend the former governor “violated lay due procedures and cannot stand.’’

It assured Ekiti party delegates that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) would look into the matter critically and come out with a decision.

The statement said that the party’s leadership would not condone any act of imposition of candidates.

It said that in issues of election into any office, the party’s national leadership would create a conducive and enabling environment for all party members to contest.

The statement added that where it became necessary to have a consensus arrangement, all party members would be carried along to avoid anyone being short-changed or isolated.

Both the state chairman of PDP and Mr. Fayose had visited Mr. Tukur separately after the suspension. The Ekiti PDP accused the former governor of invading the party’ secretariat in Ado-Ekiti with thugs, an allegation Mr. Fayose denied.

The former governor, however, accused the party chairman of plotting to impose the Minister of Police Affairs as the party’s candidate for the 2014 governorship election in the state.

(NAN)