The Chairperson of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Lauretta Onochie, has been suspended by the Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) over alleged anti-party activities.
Also, the gale of suspensions has also extended to Kwara State as the party leadership in Offa Local Government Area, weekend, announced the suspension of five of its leaders from the party over an alleged anti-party activities.
At the same time, a National Ex-offico of the party from Bauchi State, Alhaji Sirajo Dada, has been expelled by the party in Gamawa Local Government Ares of the state.
However, the party in Delta, after a review of Onochie’s conduct during the just concluded general election, approved her suspension from the party.
The executive members of APC in Onicha-Olona, Ward 4 in Aniocha North local government area of the state accused her of campaigning for candidates of opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to her suspension letter, her allies and supporters were said to have also worked for the PDP making the party to lose in her polling unit and other places.
A loss of confidence issued on her, included that she has never met her financial obligations to the party neither has she attended Ward, LGA meetings or any of the party’s engagements. The suspension letter signed by 27 Ward Executives.
In offa, those suspended by the party leadership included, Mr. Lateef Afolayan, Mr. Bashir Olaoti, Mrs. Folake Shittu, Mr. Yusuf Abdulkadir and Mr. Bashir Oyeyemi.
A statement jointly issued by the APC chairman in Offa local government, Hon. Kunle Adegboye and Secretary, Hon. Banwo Rasheed, said that, the decision to suspend the erring members was reached at the end of an enlarged meeting of party members which had all the twelve wards chairmen, local, senatorial and state executives of APC in attendance.
According to the statement, those suspended were found culpable of some unwholesome political activities in the February 25th general elections, saying the suspended members of the party had taken the party to court despite several attempts to persuade them not to engage in such acts.
Meanwhile, the APC leadership in Share wards 1, 2 and 5 in Ifelodun LGA of the state, had last Friday announced the suspensions of a former Senator representing Kwara South senatorial district, Senator Suleiman Makanjuola Ajadi; a Special Assistant to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on Youth Matters, Hon. Rasaq Apaguntan and 10 others for allegedly working against the APC during the last general elections in the state.
But the state chairman of the party, Mr. Sunday Fagbemi, urged the organs of the party across the 16 local government areas of the state to shelve punitive measures against any member and instead embrace peace and reconciliation.
Nevertheless, a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday and signed personally by Fagbemi expressed concerns over reports of suspension of some party members at their ward levels in the state.
While the party agreed that no organisation survives without discipline and respect for leadership, the chairman said, “It is also important to build group cohesion through conciliation and consensus building.”.
From Bauchi, the decision to expel Dada, was said to have been taken at the end of an emergency meeting of the Executive Council of the APC in Gamawa LGA following what was described as anti-party activities.
While making the announcement at the APC Secretariat in Gamawa on Saturday, Chairman of the APC in Gamawa LGA, Ahmed Saleh Super, said, though it was a difficult decision to take, the EXCO had no option but to be hard in order to instill discipline in the party.
The APC LGA Chairman added that, “Sirajo Dada really worked against the success of the APC in the LGA during the 2023 general election. He was caught going round decampaigning the candidates of the APC. Sirajo Dada went against the stance of the APC, he campaigned for the candidate of the PRP for the House of Representatives seat. He was accosted by leadership of the APC but he glaringly refused to listen.
“Having refused to be remorseful about what he did, the EXCO met and came to this decision. He is hereby expelled from being a member of the APC in Gamawa LGA. We have served him with the letter to that effect and copied the State EXCO through the State Chairman.”
Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi, Hammed Shittu in Ilorin and Sylvester Idowu in Warri
Follow us on:
