The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun state has expelled, Mr Dotun Babayemi from the party over alleged anti-party activities.
Babayemi, a factional governorship candidate of the party had sued the party, seeking the nullification of Senator Ademola Adeleke as its candidate, a matter still before the Supreme Court.
Addressing journalists at the State Party Secretariat in Osogbo Friday on behalf of other ward executive committee, the party Secretary for Otun Balogun ward 2, Gbongan, Ayedaade local government, which is Babayemi’s ward, Ogunleye Bukayo, said the decision was reached to keep the party united in the local government and the state in general.
His words; The disciplinary committee seriously frowned at the actions of Prince Babayemi and considered his adamant postures and anti-party activities as embarrassing to the party, bringing to disrepute the name of our town and a discrete plan to sabotage and subvert the will of the people of Osun State.
“The committee found Prince Dotun Babayemi as having engaged in serious anti-party activities to the detriment of the party, and has breached the provisions of sections 58(1) (a),( b), (d), (e) (g), (h) (i), (k) and (l) of the constitution of PDP. To avoid further damning damages that may be too costly to bear on the party going forward, the disciplinary committee had recommended that Prince Dotun Babayemi be removed as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“The Ward Executive Committee of the party at its meeting of 20th July, 2022 received the report of the disciplinary committee, and after careful and extensive deliberations ratified the report of the disciplinary committee .
“The Ward Executive Committee of the Party in exercise of the powers conferred on it by sections 57(2) and 59 (1) (g) of the constitution of PDP hereby remove and expel Prince Dotun Babayemi from the Peoples Democratic Party. He therefore ceases to be a member of the PDP henceforth.
He had alleged that after the conduct of the party primary, which Babayemi organized a parallel exercise without the authority of the party national leadership, he, Babayemi, had been engaging in various anti-party activities at the detriment of the PDP, hence, the ward decision to set up a disciplinary committee to investigate a petition against his person.
.
According to him, “following receipt of petitions bothering on the state of affairs of our party and alleging in particular serious anti-party roles being played by Prince Dotun Babayemi and his supporters and clandestine moves that could jeorpadise the chances of victory of our party in the 2022 Osun gubernatorial election, the Executive Committee of Peoples Democratic Party of Otun Balogun Ward 2, Ayedaade Local Government Gbongan met in an emergency meeting on the July 12, 2022 and after extensive deliberations resolved and set up a seven man disciplinary committee to look into the petitions and come up with appropriate recommendations.
“In other to avail him the opportunity to respond to the allegations, the disciplinary committee at its inaugural sitting on the 13th of July, 2022 issued a letter of invitation to appear before the committee within seven days to Prince Babayemi, delivered to his residence, Babayemi’s house, Obada Area, Gbongan, Osun State, duly acknowledged and received by the private guard at his house. Prince Babayemi however failed to appear before the committee to respond to the allegations at the expiration of the seven days which lapsed on 19th of July, 2022.
“The committee on the 19th of July, 2022 thereafter looked into the petitions and came out with the following findings; that the state of affairs of our party in Gbongan and in Osun State generally is such that had its root in the promotion of factions within the party by Prince Dotun Babayemi and his allies, and further fuelled by his group’s setting up of parallel executives in all the wards, an action which has impacted negatively in the fortune of our party and caused sharp division among the party members.
“That Prince Dotun Babayemi’s serial legal litigations and court actions against the party was a deliberate ploy to rock the boat and destabilise the party , an anti-party activity which had caused disaffection among party members, and deterred PDP sympathisers from identifying with the party in Gbongan.
“The committee viewed Prince Babayemi’s continuous filing of several court cases against the party as an affront and his refusal to withdraw same despite the intervention of the party’s leadership both at the State and National level as complete disobedience to the party’s lawful directives.
However, Dotun Babayemi in a reaction through his media aide, Kayode Oladeji said those who pronounced the purported expulsion are jesters.
“Those who carried out the shenanigans they called expulsion of Omooba Dotun Babayemi from the PDP, are ignorant of the rules that govern the party; they and their sponsors are only being clever by half in their bid to browbeat Babayemi, a man of the people.They are jesters who enjoy amusing themselves”, he said.
