The Senator representing Ogun East in the National Assembly, Buruji
Kashamu, has formally written the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), Department of State Services (DSS) and Police to
disregard his expulsion by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Kashamu, who was reacting to the correspondences of the PDP national
leadership to the three agencies, maintained that the party’s sanction
against him was a stillbirth and cannot stand the test of the law.
The lawmaker’s position was contained in a letter dated August 6 and
addressed to the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, which was copied to
the INEC Chairman, Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ogun State;
Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Police; Director-General of
the State Security Service (SSS) and State Director, among others.
The PDP National Legal Adviser, Emmanuel Enoidem, had on August 1 notified
INEC and security agencies of the party’s recent decision to expel Kashamu
and three others, including Adebayo Dayo, Semiu Sodipo and Segun Seriki,
over alleged anti-party activities.
But, the senator yesterday declared that the correspondences “were not
only borne out of ignorance but most ridiculous, deceitful and criminally
contemptuous”.
He said it was outside the functions of the National Legal Adviser of PDP
to write such correspondences as stipulated in Article 42 of the Party’s
Constitution.
According to him, it is only the National Chairman and the National
Secretary that have powers to issue such correspondences as stipulated in
Articles 35 and 36 of the party’s constitution.
Kashamu added that there were pending litigations in which the courts had
restrained the PDP from taking any disciplinary action against him and
others.
He said, “Thus, I respectfully urge you to discountenance the fake letter,
as it is not worth more than the piece of paper on which it was written.
“Secondly, the National Executive Committee (NEC) could not have validly
expelled me and others when there are subsisting judgments and orders of
court forbidding them from taking any disciplinary action against me and
the others.
“If they had taught through their ill-advised step, they would have
realized that it offends the provision of Article 57 (6) of the PDP
Constitution.”
The senator stated that he expected men of conscience within the party to
act if any “mercantile agent” decided to go against the laws of the land
and resorted to self-help in further bringing the party into disrepute.
He said, “It should be clear to all law-abiding citizens and institutions
that the purported expulsion, in spite of subsisting orders and judgments
of the court, is a still birth which cannot see the light of the day. It
is an act of illegality that cannot stand the test of the law.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I and the others remain valid, card-carrying
and financial members of the PDP. Nobody can take away our rights and
privileges because the courts had forbidden the party from doing so before
it purportedly moved against us.
“We will continue to operate within the law as PDP members, senator and
State Exco members.
“Finally, I wish to inform you that I have written letters to the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Police and the State
Security Service (SSS) urging them to disregard the valueless and
incompetent letter written in defiance of several subsisting court
judgments and orders, and continue to relate with us as the authentic and
legally recognized leaders and members of the party.”