'We'll not sleep until we reclaim PDP from Governor,' PDP Chieftain says

Awoyelu stated this in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, May 19, at the swearing in of the Chief Williams Ajayi-led faction of the State Executive Committee of the party.

A Federal High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state capital, had on on Tuesday, May 17, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and deal with the Ajayi faction pending the final determination of a suit before it.

The court also restrained INEC and the PDP National Secretariat from relating with the faction loyal to the Fayose, where Gboyega Oguntuase had emerged as the state chairman.

Going by the court order, the faction loyal to Fayose have lost the rights to vote at the party’s National Convention due to hold in Port Harcourt on Saturday, May 21, following a court order.

Awotelu, who is a former Senate Deputy Chief Whip, said the Ajayio faction will do everything possible to reclaim the party from Fayose.

“I have been in the party politics for more than 50 years and that is why we are trying to restructure our party. We will never sleep until we reclaim our party from Governor Fayose. We are ready to correct all the wrongs in our party," he said.

“I have grouse with Fayose in two ways: One, I have never seen a state where governor will be the one to appoint councillorship candidates. This is wrong because it is the duty of the party leaders. He disobeyed the party guidelines.

“Secondly, the governor has appropriated the party to himself. The governor has not attended any meeting at the party secretariat, instead he relocated the party to his house in Afao Ekiti. This, we will not tolerate.

“I have been a member of the PDP National Executive Committee since 1998. Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo , Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan were attending meeting at Wadata Plaza in Abuja. But this is not so under Governor Fayose.

“Governor Fayose was not in Ekiti when we formed PDP. He didn’t know anything about PDP. And we thank God that the election of the new SEC and the verdict of the court have shown that God and the people have rejected the governor. We have reclaimed the state from him.

“As SEC of the party, you have nothing to fear because the court had validated your victories. You should ensure unity in our party and bring every aggrieved member on board,” the PDP Chieftain added.

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A former Secretary to the State Government, Ambassador Dare Bejide, also stressed that the court order indicates that Fayose’s faction members will not be allowed near the convention venue.

He urged the new SEC to instill discipline in the party and make it a formidable force to be able to win elections.