Ekiti PDP Chieftain
Landlord of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Ekiti State has issued quit notice to the party for its inability to pay the sum of N1.5 million as rent.
The landlord, who was a two-term State PDP Chairman and now a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Ropo Adesanya, is aggrieved that the ruling party in the state allegedly issued him a dud cheque for the rent.
Power supply to the party secretariat has also been disconnected by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company over unpaid electricity bills.
Adesanya was the PDP Chairman for eight years during which Governor Ayodele Fayose won the 2003 governorship election.
Describing the situation as “very embarrassing,” the Acting Chairman of the PDP in the state, Tunde Olatunde, who took over when the Chairman, Idowu Faleye, was purportedly removed, confirmed that the cheque issued to Adesanya was not honoured by the bank.
Faleye, an ally of the governor, purportedly stepped down on May 13 following pressure from members of the State Executive Committee.
Olatunde chairs a faction, which has 14 State Working Committee members and 51 members of State Executive Council, who are the majority and occupying the party secretariat.
He explained that Adesanya had already forwarded a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Etop James, on the alleged issuance of a dud cheque, which he claimed, was “stopped for no just cause.”
He said the cash could not be drawn from the party’s account at an old generation bank despite that the account had about N17m.
Olatunde said, “The truth of the matter is that our party has been ejected for not paying our rent by our landlord, Chief Ropo Adesanya, eight-year party chairman and the man that produced Mr. Governor in his first term.
“We are owing the man N1.5m and we issued him a cheque drawn in our account in an old generation Bank that has about N17m at the time we were using it but mysteriously, the cheque was stopped for no just cause.
“Chief Ropo Adesanya has petitioned the Commissioner of Police for issuance of dud cheque and the Police have confirmed that there is money in that account.
“The twist in the story is that Mr. Governor is saying that Adesanya bought the house nearly ten years ago when they sent him (Fayose) on exile.
“In fact, public power supply has been disconnected from the building and we are suffering despite the fact that our party is in power and presently rules in Ekiti.
“This party has been in power for almost one year now, the government has not funded us. The state exco members have not been receiving their honorarium and the activities of the party have been grounded.”
When contacted on Tuesday, the factional Publicity Secretary loyal to the governor, Jackson Adebayo, said, “I’m not aware of that.”
Olatunde said the party would sue the bank for throwing it into disrepute by not honoring the cheque when it had more than enough to pay in the account.
When asked if the SWC had approached the governor to resolve the issue, he said the governor was aware but had not shown interest.
Olatunde stated that the governor had been operating with the Faleye faction at the Government House, a situation he described as “illegal.”
He added that the SWC members would continue to insist that the party was run in accordance with the party’s constitution despite the present predicament. [myad]
