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A governorship aspirant in Ekiti Sate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Deji Ajayi, has called on the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, to disqualify a former Governor of the state, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, from taking part in the party’s primaries scheduled for Saturday.
Ajayi, in a petition which he also sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, threatened to head for the court to seek legal redress if action was not taken.
He said Fayose had ceased from being a member of the party having once defected to the Labour Party.
He said there was no constitutional recommendation to the National Working Committee of the PDP for Fayose’s readmission to the party.
Ajayi’s letter read in part, “Sir, the subject person, Mr. Ayo Fayose, who is not a party member, has been parading himself as an aspirant on the platform of the party for some time without going through and/or fulfilling the constitutional prerequisites to becoming a member of the Party.
“It may be apposite to state the facts of how Mr. Fayose, who was once a member of the party, lost his membership and has never been re-admitted to full membership of the party to confer the status of participating in the electoral process leading to the emergence of the party’s candidate.
“Sir, the subject person was the Governor of Ekiti State between 2003 and 2006 when he was impeached by the State House of Assembly and went on a self-imposed exile. Upon his return, he left the party and joined the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and campaigned across the State for that party’s candidate in the 2007 Gubernatorial election.
“In 2013, he did not only join the Labour Party, he was also the candidate of that Party for the Ekiti Central Senatorial seat which he lost with a wide margin to the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria. Sir, it is a notorious fact that cannot be denied that the subject person, with these antecedents lost his membership of the party.
“It is conceded that the subject person has, to the general knowledge and to the personal knowledge of our client, taken the initial steps towards becoming a member of the party in line with the provision of section 8(17) of the Constitution of the party, however, no recommendation has been made to the National Working Committee for his readmission to the party.
“Sir, assuming without conceding that such recommendation has been made to the National Working Committee of the Party, such readmission has not been ratified by the National Executive Committee of the Party.
“It may be relevant at this juncture to quote out the provision of section 8(17) of the Party” Constitution for the effect; Chapter II, Section 8 (17) of the PDP Constitution sates that:’Any member who loses his membership for reasons other than non-payment of annual subscription may be readmitted on the recommendation of his Ward Executive Committee, through the Local Government Area Executive Committee, to the State Chapter of the party, and ultimately made to the National Working Committee, subject to ratification by the National Executive Committee.
