Ekiti gov aspirant asks PDP to disqualify Fayose

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."