Ondo State PDP Files Suit to Restrain Mimiko from Dissolving Leadership
The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has filed a suit against Governor Olusegun Mimiko to restrain him from dissolving the party’s Executive Committee after his defection.
Mimiko, who was formerly a member of the Labour Party (LP) and was elected twice as governor on the platform, defected to the PDP on Thursday, citing his support for President Jonathan’s second term bid as his reason.
The State’s PDP executives and loyalists now fear that Mimiko and his followers may try to hijack the structure of the PDP from them.
Chairman of the Ondo state PDP chapter, Ebenezer Alabi, announced the news, saying the executive committee though the governor’s defection could destroy the party if not properly managed.
He said: “We are not opposing the governor’s return to the party, but we are against moves by him to dissolve the state executive of the party.
“We were duly elected on 17th March, 2012 and our four year tenure will end in 2016. So, any attempt by the governor to change the leadership of the party will be regarded as an affront on members of the party, who have remained loyal through the years.
“It would be illegal for some people to sit down somewhere and cut short our tenure. We heard that there is this bundle which they have negotiated with him (Mimiko) and that they are ceding some executive positions of the party, including the state chairmanship to him.
“Like I said, we believe this is very wrong. It is an affront on us. We have constitutional right and we have opted to defend our constitutional interest, and that was why we have filed a suit in Abuja rejecting any dissolution of the executive.”
