Ogun PDP factions feud over secretariat

AGAIN, the four-year-old internal crisis rocking the Ogun State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), took another disturbing dimension yesterday as the Buruji Kashamu-led faction attempted to forcefully take control of the party’s secretariat complex.

The attempt was however frustrated by armed security men allegedly deployed by the national leadership of the party to secure the place.

The secretariat complex located at Ibrahim Babangida’s Boulevard, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, until last Friday was manned by the Kashamu faction of the party.

However, to find solution to the lingering crisis, a new party executive in the state was elected in an election supervised by the party’s national leadership last August.

But the Kashamu faction has refused to recognise the new executive led by Senator Dipo Odujirin, arguing that they were sidelined during the election.

Last Friday, the new state executive moved from their temporary office to occupy the Oke-Mosan Secretariat, even though the Kashamu faction claims they still hold the keys to the complex. The Odujirin-led executive is being backed by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

Supporters of the Kashamu faction yesterday arrived the secretariat complex as early as 8.00 a.m. in over 20 hired buses and by 10.00 a.m., hundreds of them had gathered in front of the place, which was already under lock and key. When it was time for them to move in, armed security inside the secretariat told them that they could not enter.

The leader of the security men guarding the place told them: “It was the national secretariat that sent us to secure this place (secretariat) so even if we have the keys, we wont allow you in. All persuasions by Mr. Semiu Babatunde who led the aggrieved faction members to the place did not yield any positive response.

Initially, there were four factions within the party. The aggrieved party supporters who attempted to take over the secretariat yesterday carried placards, some of them accusing Obasanjo of being responsible for the feud. They also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene to restore sanity. Some of the placards read “Obasanjo stop destroying Ogun PDP,” “What is President Jonathan doing about this,” and “President Jonathan preaches rule of law.”