Ekiti PDP crisis: Faction threatens Fayose-backed men over ‘contempt’

The estranged State Working Committee (SWC) members of the Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have accused the faction loyal to Governor Ayo Fayose of contempt of court.

They threatened to jail the chairman of the faction backed by Fayose, Idowu Faleye, for allegedly spearheading the purported expulsion of four of them.

The embattled SWC added that the action eroded the integrity of the court of law, where its members filed a suit against any punitive measure against them.

The Chairman of the 11 SWC members, Tunde Olatunde, whose expulsion was announced by Faleye and three other state exco members, maintained that they would explore available legal and constitutional means to seek redress and ensure that those holding court in contempt were committed to prison.

Others, who were expelled by the Faleye-led faction, were PDP State Secretary, Tope Aluko; Women Leader Mrs. Busola Oyebode and Auditor Tunji Olanrewaju. They were expelled for alleged anti-party activities.

Olatunde, who spoke with reporters at the wedding of Aluko’s daughter at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, said the faction loyal to Fayose knew that a suit had been filed at the Ekiti State High Court challenging their suspension and seeking leave of the court to restrain the party from taking further action against them.

He said for Faleye and other loyalists of Fayose to go ahead and expel them in view of the pending court process, was tantamount to contempt of court, abuse of the rule of law and an attempt to foist a fait accompli on the court.

Olatunde said: “Shortly after we were suspended, we went to court to challenge our suspension and also asked the court to restrain the party from taking further decision pending the time the reconciliation committee to be constituted by the NWC arrives in Ekiti.

“What really marvelled us was that the Faleye and his ilk were duly served with all the court processes. But we decided to stay action in the pursuit of the case because of the respect we have for the NWC, which had indicated interest to resolve the matter.

“But out of desperation, they went and trampled on the integrity of the court. We would have expected that status quo be maintained while awaiting what the court and NWC would say on the matter.

“We are assuring that we will use every legal means to ensure that Faleye and his collaborators are jailed for contempt. Though we are not ruling out the reconciliation being proposed by NWC, we are ready to embrace it. But if they failed, then we will resort to legal means.”

But the spokesman of the Faleye-led faction, Jackson Adebayo, insisted that the expulsion was in order.

He added that the quartet had been expelled before they went to court to seek protection against disciplinary action.

Adebayo said: “There was no contempt of court in anything that the party’s state executive committee did because the expulsion was done before the aggrieved went to court.

“I don’t think they understand the meaning of contempt of court. If they understand it, they will not be going to court for injunction after an action had been taken.”

This story was first published by the Nation Newspaper.