Ogun LP leadership crisis resurfaces

From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

Internal crisis rocking the Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party (LP), yesterday resurfaced as the Simeon Olubode-led faction came hard on a former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel for “illegally” speaking on behalf of the party.

Daniel, who at a press parley in Lagos recently was quoted to have said that there was a working arrangement between the LP and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State to send the incumbent Governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, packing during the 2015 general elections.

The Simeon’s faction in a statement in Abeokuta yesterday stated that Daniel was on his own because he lacked the authority to “speak or negotiate” on behalf of the party, describing Daniel’s statement as misguided.

The statement, signed by Simeon who is the factional Chairman and his factional Secretary, Mr. Sunday Olaposi Oginni, insisted that it was not only “criminal but also absurd for anyone to parade himself as officer of Ogun Labour Party when there is still a subsisting case before the judiciary on the factionalisation of the party in the state”.

But in a quick reaction, the Publicity Secretary of Daniel’s faction, Mr. Deji Kalejaiye described the Simeon’s faction as agents of destabilisation

According to Kalejaiye “They (Simeon faction) are confused and disillusioned. Their statement should be disregarded; there is no iota of sense in that. OGD remains the leader of the party in the state. There is no contention in the leadership of OGD in the state and as a matter of fact, the LP under the leadership of OGD has gone beyond rhetoric. They are agents of destabilization”.

Simeon’s faction statement however insisted that the moves by Daniel and some members of his faction to parade themselves as executives and leader of the party in the state when a case is still pending before a competent court of jurisdiction “is an attempt to subvert the constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria and as such should be treated as insurgent”.

“At this critical juncture of our party history, and despite our desire for restraint and mature engagement so far with Otunba Gbenga Daniel, it is evident that his action is no longer an option and we must resist. Indeed, keeping quite in the face of ceaseless violation of the constitution of Labour Party, will amount to complicity in the lawlessness and impunity that has become the norms under OGD,” the statement indicated.

The faction disclosed that it had written to the state Commissioner of Police and Director of the State Security Service to inform them of the development.

“Finally, we wish to say that our party philosophies and OGD political ideologies are mutually antagonistic,” the faction submitted.