Social Democratic Party (SDP) Chairman in Delta State, Oke Idawene, has put aside his removal by the national leadership.
Idawene who spoke in the capital Asaba on Wednesday, May 3, stated that he remained the chairman of SDP in Delta State, saying that the State Executive Council was duly elected through a congress, and nobody had the power to dissolve the executive.
The National Secretary of SDP, Dr. Olu Agunloye, had in a letter on behalf of the party, dissolved the Delta State Executive Committee led by Idawene.
Dr. Agunloye who announced the constitution of a caretaker committee with Mrs. Esther Ikule as chairman, said the National Working Committee (NWC) dissolved the Delta state Exco following recent developments, explaining that the decision was in consonance with “the 2022 Constitution of the party.”
Giving reasons for the dissolution, Agunloye said the executive committee failed to resolve the protracted issues within the party and “moreover, the unworthy roles being played by members of the State Executive Committee in this matter.”
However, speaking after a visit to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and Governor-elect, Sheriff Oborevwori, Idawene urged members of the party and the general public to disregard his removal, insisting that he remained the state chairman of the SDP.
He said the purported letter of dissolution was issued at the wee hours of Wednesday, May 2, pointing out that the party’s NWC usually meet on Thursdays.
Idawene stated that those behind his purported removal were enemies of the party who were committed to ruining it both at the state and the national levels.
“The entire public should disregard this information, Delta State SDP is intact. NWC meetings are Thursdays, no meeting was held for sack of SDP Delta State Excos. It is a joke taken too far,” he concluded.