LP Voids Okupe’s Expulsion; Suspects Infiltration; Says Saboteurs To Be Fished Out

By Adesina Soyooye

The Labour Party said Friday that it has voided the embarrassing Expulsion of Dr Doyin Okupe from the Party.

Reports suddenly emerged on Thursday, and shocked not a few people that the Ogun State Chapter of the LP has expelled Okupe and 11 others from the Party for not paying their monthly dues to the Party inspite of the many reminders.

What worried many most is that Dr Okupe is the Director General of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council. To expel him, less than three months to the Presidential election, means destabilising both the Party and its candidates, Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.

A number of people in their reaction insisted the expulsion smacks of deliberate sabotage of the roaring status of the party, especially, as they began to play the Nyesom Wike card.

They requested that a new Director General be appointed from the Northern part of the Country for fairness and equity.

However, on Friday, reprieve came the way of Okupe and the other expelled eleven members.

The National Secretary of the Party, Umar-Farouk Ibrahim, said the expulsion is null and void. He also said that those who carried out the coup against the Party, will be fished out and disciplined appropriately.

Addressing a Press Conference in Abuja,  Ibrahim stated that the National Leadership of the party was taken by surprise at the expulsions the Ogun chapter carried out without due process.

He said: “The Ogun State Chapter has acted outside its Constitutional jurisdiction. The  party has international conflict resolution mechanism of handling cases against members as enshrined in the party’s constitution.

“There are also disciplinary measures to be taken, for example, before you discipline any member. There are certain procedures that you have to follow. You have to issue query among other procedures, and that has not been followed.

“No complaint was written by the State Chapter, his Ward and his Local Government, so we are saying the National Headquarters is not aware of what they are doing. They  are doing it on their own.

“The National Working Committee (NWC) is going to set up a committee and appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against the perpetrators in the State Exco and we are going to fish them out and take appropriate action.”

Okupe, Ibrahim said, remains a card-carrying member of Labour Party and the DG of its PCC.

He said that the party is aware of attempts by opposition parties to infiltrate its structures at all levels. But said it would be resisted all the way by all means.