Former National Secretary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Olagunsoye Oyinlola has threatened to dump the party.
The former governor, who made this known in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, hinged his decision on what he described as the brazen refusal by the party to obey a Court of Appeal ruling which order his re-instatement as the national secretary of the party.
PDP, acting on a Federal High Court ruling of January 11, 2013 had removed Oyinlola as its national secretary. The former governor, however, challenged his removal at the Court of Appeal and got a reprieve as the appellate court quashed the judgment, which pronounced his removal and ordered that the former governor be reinstated.
Oyinlola who noted that although the appellate court’s verdict is currently being challenged by a state chapter of party at the Supreme Court , expressed surprise at the failure of the party to obey the ruling of the appellate court in the same swift manner it obeyed the Federal High Court judgment which ordered his removal.
The letter dated July 30, 2014 reads:
Your Excellency, I present to your Excellency my very warm and sincere compliments.
I write you sir, in conformity with my training and upbringing which demand strict adherence to the virtue of loyalty and one’s word. Mr. President may recall that in the course of my service to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as National Secretary, I had cause to give my loyalty to the PDP and to you as the National Leader of the party. As an officer, the ethos of my chosen profession demands of me that my words must always be my bond. Your Excellency knows very well that I have kept to that bond of loyalty, even in the face of brazen assault on my rights as a member of the PDP.
Following a Federal High Court decision which removed me from office as the PDP National Secretary on January 11, 2013, the party at that time swiftly appointed a replacement for me, claiming adherence to the demands of the Rule of Law as the reason for the hasty decision. Strangely later, when the Court of Appeal quashed that judgment and reinstated me on November 6, 2013, the party saw no need to obey that superior decision of a court of competent jurisdiction. The party has to date brazenly refused to obey that court order, hinging its tardiness on an appeal lodged at the Supreme Court, not by the party’s National Secretariat, but surprisingly by a state chapter of the PDP.
Your Excellency, you are very conversant of all efforts made by me and very importantly, by respected leaders of the party to get this matter resolved and truly reconcile all aggrieved parties. I, however, learnt that you were not sure of my support for you, given my closeness to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR; hence the decision to disallow me from returning to my legally recognized position as the National Secretary of the PDP. I have met you on several occasions on this matter to pledge my loyalty. At my last meeting with you, which was at the instance of the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’Azu, CON, you requested that I be part of the on-going Osun governorship campaigns. Mr. President would remember that I stated that the minimum the party leadership could do to get me to campaign was to instruct the Ogun State chapter of the party to withdraw its appeal at the Supreme Court or alternatively, obey the Appeal Court order, and allow me to resume duty, the same way the party obeyed the faulty Federal High Court verdict that ousted me.
To the foregoing, I wish to state that I was promised some positive response which never came up till this moment. The chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, CFR, has also on several occasions, after discussing with me met with your Excellency on this matter, assuring you of my loyalty to you, and to the cause of the party. I am also aware that the Senate President, Senator David Mark, GCON, has similarly met with you and made a case for my return to office. Senator Mark went to the extent of asking you to hold him responsible for all actions I might take as National Secretary. Mr. President, allow me to state with emphasis that what joins Senator Mark and my humble self is more than politics. The military family that binds us does not know double-dealing or disloyalty. As part of our training, we keep our words; hence we are called “Gentlemen Officers.” That precisely was why the Senate President could most frontally vouch for me.
Your Excellency, allow me to also recall that on three occasions, Senator Mark informed you that I had agreed to submit to you a pre-signed resignation letter, if that would allay all fears of insincerity; and all, in a bid to ensure that the injustice of my illegal removal from office is redressed. I wish to respectfully state that I do not go back on my words, just like I don’t abandon my friends, associates, and leaders, no matter how hard the situation might be. That explains why as state governor, I remained very loyal to my boss, former President Ibrahim Babangida, GCFR, even when he had some issues with the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. I wish to respectfully recall very respectfully, that Chief Obasanjo never made any attempt to move against me, on account of these differences. The same spirit today drives me as I maintain my loyalty to former President Obasanjo, who may, or who may not have any relationship with your government. It was that same spirit that made me insist on your approval of my candidature, in your capacity as national leader of the party and president, before I agreed with my brother-governors’ request in 2012, to contest for the position of PDP National Secretary. I should like to state that I am not a fair-weather fellow. To my friends, the spirit is very similar to a marital vow.
Mr. President, I wish to observe that with all these efforts by me and other credible leaders of our party, it appears clearly to me that you are not totally convinced that I am who I have always been in my journey through life. I have, therefore, come to the conclusion that it is this mindset that is at the root of my challenges in the PDP. It seems to me that I am not wanted by the national leader of the party; and I know that. Therefore, I will certainly not be doing myself justice and good, despite everything, if I don’t think seriously about my political journey and take a firm decision. Mr. President, I may at this point, need to look beyond the party and take my destiny in my hands. I sincerely hope that this will solve the problem.
Conclusively, Your Excellency, if I am doing that above and take further steps without telling you, I would be negating the pledge of loyalty which I had earlier made to you; hence this correspondence to Mr. President.
While thanking Your Excellency for your attention, please accept the assurances of my highest regards and best wishes.
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