The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Osun State on Friday expelled Prince Dotun Babayemi, a 2022 governorship aspirant from the party over alleged anti-party activities.
The Ward Executive members of Otun Balogun 2, Ayedaade local government area of the State where Babayemi came from made this known at the party secretariat in Osogbo.
The executives said that the expulsion followed the recommendation of the party’s disciplinary committee.
It will be recalled that Babayemi was declared the party’s governorship candidate at a parallel primaries held at the WOCDIF Events Centre, Osogbo on March 8th, 2022.
While the party held its primaries at Osogbo Township Stadium under the supervision of the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, as directed by the National Working Committee of PDP, and monitored by INEC where Ademola Adeleke participated and declared the candidate of the party.
Babayemi had also Instituted various legal actions in different Courts of Competent Jurisdiction against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, challenging the qualification and validity of the party primary election that returned Ademola Adeleke as the standard bearer of the PDP in the July 16, 2022 Osun State Governorship Election.
Ogunleye Bukayo, the secretary of the ward, who read the address on behalf of the Ward exco, said despite the interventions of the National Working Committee of PDP, party stakeholders and elder statesmen to persuade Babayemi to withdraw all court cases filed against the party, he has refused to yield to words of reasoning and is hellbent at pursuing legal actions against the party with the sole aim of truncating the wishes of good people of Osun State in the mandate given to Senator Ademola Adeleke.
“Following receipt of petitions bordering 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 12th of July, 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.
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“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.
“That rather than serving as an influencer and a rallying point to all members of the party at ward meetings, Prince Dotun Babayemi had not been attending the ward meetings since October, 2021 till date. His absence at ward meetings over a long period of time spanning October 2021 till date was perceived as a wrong signal to the members of the party of his indisposition to the unity of the party. The committee observed that Prince Babayemi’s persistent absence at ward meetings was a self orchestrated antics on purpose.
“That supporters and allies of Prince Babayemi made clandestine moves and held secret meetings with the APC with the aim of forging alliance to generally work against our party in the last July 16th 2022 gubernatorial election and vote for the APC across all the wards in Gbongan, an action considered as gross anti-party activities aimed at sabotaging the success and victory of PDP.
“That majority of voters in Gbongan felt disenchanted with the unwillingness of Prince Dotun Babayemi to forge a united and cohesive alliance with the party, an action which portrayed our party as too disunited , thus weakening our support base, and losing the confidence and sympathy of majority of prospective voters.
“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”, the statement read.
Reacting to the party’s expulsion, Babayemi called those who carried out the expulsion as jesters, “those who carried out the shenanigans they called expulsion are ignorant of the rules that govern the party; they and their sponsors are only being clever by half in their bid to browbeat a man of the people.They are jesters who enjoy amusing themselves.”
