The crisis rocking the Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, deepens and taken a new dimension on Wednesday as parallel council executives emerged from local government council congress.
The parallel executives emerged from the council congress held at two different locations with each faction announcing new executive officers.
Olujimi faction held their congress at the residence of the party leaders across the 16 local governments Area while the camp loyal to Fayose held theirs at the party secretariat supervised by the representatives from the National Secretariat of the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Fayose and Olujimi have been at each other’s throats over the soul of the Ekiti PDP and its architectural structures, which has polarised the party into two dominant factions.
The leadership tussle resulted into the emergence of parallel executives from the March 17 ward congress, which the duo saw as an opportunity to capture the party machinery ahead of the 2022 gubernatorial election in the state.
Olujimi blamed the crisis in the state chapter of the party on Prince Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee, for its complicity.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus has fixed Saturday, August 29, for the State Congress in the state.
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The party also fixed the new dates of the Local government and state congresses in Kaduna, Plateau, Sokoto, Jigawa and Yobe States.
Newsflash247 had earlier reported that the ward congress, local government and state congresses were to be held on July have been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
According to a letter issued by the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, and the National Secretary, Senator Umar Tsauri, titled: ‘Re: Year 2020 Party Congresses in 26 Chapters of the PDP new dates for Party Congresses in Ekiti, Kaduna, Jigawa, Plateau, Sokoto and Yobe States’, which was addressed to the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on August 20, PDP said the new dates for the conclusion of the outstanding Congresses in six states have been designated for different dates and timelines for their elections.
The letter from the PDP notifying INEC of the new dates stated: “Please refer to our earlier letter with reference No: PDP/DOM CF. 2/VolIC/20-005, in which we informed INEC of our time table and schedule of activities in preparation for the conduct of year 2020 party congresses for electing new party Excos at the Ward, LGA, State and Zonal levels.
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“We now wish to inform the commission of new dates for the conclusion of the outstanding Congresses in Ekiti, Jigawa and Yobe (Ward, LGA and State Congress), Kaduna and Sokoto (LGA and State congresses), Plateau (State Congresses)”.
In Sokoto State, PDP was listed as having completed its wards congresses, but is scheduled to hold local government areas and state congresses on September 5 and 12 respectively.
In Ekiti State, where Senator Biodun Olujimi and former governor Ayo Fayose are fighting for supremacy, the ward congress is slated to hold on August 24, in two wards, while the local government’s congresses would hold August 26 and the state congress on August 29, 2020.
In Jigawa State, the ward congress is slated to hold on August 29, while the local government’s congresses would hold September 5 and the state congress on September 12, 2020.
In Yobe State, the ward congress is slated to hold on September 5, while the local government’s congresses would hold September 12 and the state congress on September 19, 2020.
In Kaduna State, PDP was listed as having completed its wards congresses, but is scheduled to hold local government areas and state congresses on August 26 and 29 respectively.
The ward and local government congresses in Plateau state were designated as concluded, but the state congresses will hold on August 29.
The dates for the elections have put politicians, including members of the state Houses of Assembly and National Assembly as well as governors on edge, because whosoever controls the elected officials at these levels would control the structures for the emergence of all categories of candidates for the general election.