The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State is facing significant internal turmoil amid rumours of plans to replace Tola Alabere, the acting State Chairman ahead of the preparations for the upcoming gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on November 16, this year.
Those behind the move argued that Ondo South cannot produce the candidate of the party and still maintain the position of the state chairman, just like the same scenario that played out in the PDP during the 2023 presidential elections, a case study of G5 governors versus Atiku/Iyorchia Ayu.
To make the matter worst, an unsigned congratulatory letter was circulated on Monday on social media where Bakkita Bello, a former speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly was congratulated as the new state chairman when apparently Tola Alabere was still in charge as the acting chairman of the party.
Against this backdrop, some leaders of the party who spoke with Starnews NG in different telephone interviews vowed to resist the move to oust the state chairman illegally.
Starnews NG reports that they believed that due process must be followed to avoid crisis as the state governorship election approaches.
“Bakitta Bello backed by the people of the north senatorial district are behind this illegal process to oust Alabere. They said they want to produce the state chairman, and we asked them to wait until the expiration of the tenure of the current State Executives which terminates on August 3, this year.”
“Sadly, the Candidate of our party, Hon Agboola Ajayi, is not helping the matter. He is solidly behind them. He does not look like a serious candidate who is planning to win the governorship election. If not, we expect him to be mindful of anything that can undermine his chances of winning the gubernatorial election.
“Ajayi is more interested to pocket the PDP’s structures instead of his governorship ambition. I am sorry, with the role he is playing, he looks like a man who has come to do business and not to win any election,” a top leader of the party told Starnews correspondent on phone.
Meanwhile, in a press statement issued on July 8, 2024, the PDP Ondo State Chapter clarified that no new State Chairman was elected.
Kennedy Ikantu Peretei, the State Publicity Secretary, emphasized that the party’s constitution outlines specific procedures for replacing officers in cases of death or removal, as stated in Article 47(6) of the PDP Constitution 2017 as amended.
The statement denounced the congratulatory message as fake and baseless, describing it as unconstitutional and a deliberate attempt to create discord within the party.
“The fake congratulatory message is mutinous and a calculated attempt to undermine efforts at rallying support for the PDP Governorship Candidate, H.E Agboola Ajayi, at the November election,” Peretei asserted.
Peretei further reminded party members that the current State Executive Committee’s tenure will expire on August 3, 2024, and advised those interested in party positions to wait until then.
Starnews NG reports that the internal crisis poses a significant challenge for the Ondo PDP as it prepares for the gubernatorial election with Agboola Ajayi as its candidate. The discord threatens to undermine the party’s unity and electoral strategy in the state.
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