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Dayo Johnson Akure

A senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state, Dr. Olusegun Phillips-Alonge has dragged the party to court, challenging his suspension from the party.

Phillips-Alonge was the party’s candidate in 2019 election for Ondo North senatorial district of the state.

He told newsmen in lkare Akoko that he approached the court because the Party’s internal issues resolution mechanism failed woefully adding that he was sidelined from the National Convention of the party last month.

The candidate was asking the court to nullify his suspension from the party by declaring it unlawful and void.

Phillips-Alonge said “The core of my lawsuit against the Party is based on my improper expulsion from the party by the illegal, callous, and unconstitutional actions of the State Party Chairman, Fatai Adams”

He explained that “Sometime in October 2021, the state party led by the chairman, Fatai Adams summarily declared that I have decamped from the PDP and communicated the same to the Party Secretariat at Wadata House, Abuja.

“Despite providing credible information to the contrary, the party refused to reconsider the decision to banish me from the Party without due process based on unverified rumors and lies fabricated.

” I want to dispel and debunk the vicious rumors by some misguided and disgruntled elements that I am no longer a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. Nothing can be further from the truth as I remain a loyal and a committed to the PDP and its ideal as ever before.

“The state working committee has ditched the party constitution, shredded the instituted civil rights, most importantly, freedom of speech, freedom of association, the right to exist freely without coercion and without being bullied, and access to due process.

“At no time in modern human history has a major political organization been run on shenanigans, finding members guilty of trumped-up charges without due process, and at no time in the history of Nigeria has people been bullied, and denied their rights, and summarily dismissed from the Party like what has happened in Ondo PDP in the past 15 months.

“Since the emergence of the state executive, the Ondo State PDP has operated a guilty as charged approach to issues and acted with wanton disregard for the civil rights afforded the party members by the constitution of the Party and that of Nigeria.

“The state party leadership have turned themselves into the accuser, the prosecutor, the jury, and the judge. The worst and the scariest part of it is that they have also assumed the right to speak for the accused. This is tyranny in its most unrivaled form in the history of humanity.

Phillips-Alonge also alleged Fatai of blocking some returnees who had previously decamped from the party from rejoining the PDP after the 2020 gubernatorial elections in violation of the freedom of association provisions of the Nigerian and PDP constitution.

Reacting, the Publicity Secretary of the party, Kennedy Peretei said that Phillips-Alonge is not a member of our Party.

Peretei added that ” He Campaigned and worked for the APC candidate at the 2020 Governorship elections. He voluntarily returned his PDP card. We have joined issues with him in court, so l cannot say more than that at the moment.

Vanguard News Nigeria