The African Democratic Congress in Ogun State has suspended Jimi Lawal, a leader of the party and former aide to former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, over alleged anti-party activities.
The Chairman of the party, Otunba Femi Soluade, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta at the weekend, declaring Lawal a non-member of the party while unveiling a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the party until the state congress is held.
Soluade accused Lawal of attempting to dominate party structures through what he described as the systematic acquisition of two local government structures and the dismantling of existing state and local leadership frameworks.
He noted that the local government party structures in Ijebu Ode and Sagamu, which were affected during the crisis, have been returned to their original leadership status to restore internal balance and inclusiveness.
The move is aimed at stabilising party structures and ensuring continuity of operations ahead of the forthcoming state congress, the date of which has not yet been announced.
The chairman stressed that further attempts to take control of party structures at state or local levels have been halted in order to protect internal democracy and ensure equal participation across tendencies within the party coalition.
“We have suspended Mr Jimi Lawal Adebola and declared him a non-member of the party due to activities inconsistent with the principles and internal democratic framework of ADC,” Soluade said.
“Future attempts to take control of the party structures at the state or local levels have been halted to protect internal democracy and guarantee equal participation across all tendencies within our coalition.”
He revealed that existing interim local government and ward executives would continue to function alongside membership mobilisation, revalidation and registration structures coordinated by Hon. Taiwo Akinlabi and Hon. Mrs. Yemi Layeni.
The chairman confirmed the appointment of a caretaker committee to temporarily fill vacant state executive and local government chairmanship positions across the state.
He also noted that the ADC State Media Team has been suspended pending reconstitution, a move party sources said is aimed at repositioning the party’s communication machinery.
