Membership status: SDP suspends party chairman over comment on Omisore

- The executives of the SDP in Osun state have announced the indefinite suspension of the state chairman, Chief Ademola Ishola

- Ishola was suspended over his recent statement about the former deputy governor of Osun state Senator Iyiola Omisore

- Reacting over his suspension, Ishola contended that those who suspended him were not members of the SDP and they lacked the power to suspend him

The chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Osun state, Ademola Ishola, has been suspended indefinitely from the party for his recent statement on the status of a governorship aspirant of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, among other misdeeds.

He had said Omisore was not a member of the party. Besides, they also accused him of allegedly failing to “render an account of party grants and subventions, amounting to over N6 million collected for the past five years,” Nigeria Tribune reports.

Addressing a press conference in Osogbo, Osun state capital, former secretary of the SDP in the state, who is also an ex-officio member of state executive committee, Elder Timothy Agboola, who was flanked by the assistant secretary of the party, Emmanuel Adeniji and ten members of the executives appointed the vice chairman of the party in Osun Central senatorial district, Alhaji Ganiyu Babatunde as the acting chairman.

Agboola said: “Be informed that the state executive committee of the SDP at its emergency meeting held on the 26th of June, 2018 at its party secretariat in Osogbo met and resolved to pass no vote of confidence on the state chairman of the party and thereby suspend him."

Parts of the reasons advanced for Ishola’s suspension include among others “misrepresentation of the state executive committee to the public through unauthorised press statement, usurping the powers of the state executive committee by refusing to call state executive meeting for the past three years.

“Failure to render accounts of party grants and subvention collected for the past five years. Continued recognition and collaboration with Segun Awe, erstwhile secretary of the party who was suspended by the state executive for misconduct, disobedience of party resolutions and anti-party activities.”

Reacting to his suspension, Ishola contended that those who suspended him were not members of the SDP and they lacked the power to suspend him.

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He stated: “Those people are not serious and I don’t have any letter to that effect and they are not members of the party. Let me tell you, we have a new constitution, new logo.

“I am the only person that remain and my secretary. I am the only person that can suspend anybody from the party. They don’t have any right to suspend me and I don’t know them. If it is true that they are members of the party and they want to do something like that, let them come to the party secretariat."

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that Senator Iyiola Omisore picked his expression of interest/nomination form for the forthcoming Osun state governorship election at the national secretariat of the SDP in Abuja.

Accompanied by his supporters, Omisore, a former Senate committee chairman on appropriation, expressed confidence that he will get the party's ticket and win the main election.

Ife-born Omisore is a businessman and politician who was deputy governor of Osun state from 1999–2003.

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