The South-West leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has accused the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, of causing crisis in the zone.

It said that the purported meeting of the party in the zone in Ado-Ekiti on Monday was held at the instance of the governor, describing the governor as a big shame to the party.

The Chairman of the PDP in the zone, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, stated this in a statement in Abuja.

Ogundipe was reacting to the meeting of some members of the party in the zone, whom he said were not PDP officials but cronies of the governor.

He said, “Ordinarily, any action by a character like Fayose does not deserve a response from a responsible quarter. But, for record purposes, it is important to point out that Fayose is the big shame bedevilling the PDP family, especially in the South-West.

“Fayose’s action of summoning a meeting he lacks the right to call at a time when well-meaning leaders and elders are calling for restraint and reconciliation is most despicable.

“Otherwise, how do we describe his action and utterances under the guise of a non-existent and illegal South-West PDP leaders’ forum? In what capacity did he call the meeting of South-West PDP leaders? Can a governor call a zonal PDP leaders meeting?

“Has he been able to call a full meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum which he purports to lead? We thank God that most of the respectable leaders of our party in the South-West shunned the illegal gathering.”

Ogundipe said that it was most ridiculous that Fayose had become a slave to his inordinate ambition, adding that the governor was bent on destroying an otherwise solid and responsible institution like the PDP.

“He must be reminded that he was the least qualified to be Ekiti governor when he was foisted on the party and the people of the state. Most of those who fell for his trick of being a better and more mature person are now full of regrets,” he added.

He said that Fayose, Eddy Olafeso and others at the meeting were clearly in contempt of the subsisting judgment and orders of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division and the Federal High Court, Lagos.

While the Court of Appeal sacked the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee and set aside everything that was purportedly done at the botched May 21, 2016 National Convention, the Federal High Court, Lagos in a judgment delivered on May 17, 2016 specifically nullified the purported zonal congress that was said to have produced Olafeso and his team and proclaimed that the tenure of Ogundipe remains till October, 2018.

“Till date, the two judgments are valid and subsisting. No contrary order or judgment has been got. It is trite that an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution and a judgment creditor cannot be stopped from enjoying the benefit of his victory at the court,” Ogundipe added.

Reacting, Fayose described Ogundipe as an agent of the APC.

He also said it was wrong of Ogundipe to describe the zonal meeting of the party which he hosted in Ekiti State as fake.

The governor, who spoke through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, said that it was funny that Ogundipe could describe meetings attended by the likes of Chief Bode George and Chief Ebenezer Babatope as being attended by fake members of the party.

Though Fayose did not dispute the court judgment that validated Ogundipe as the zonal chairman of the party, he, however, said that the judgment had been appealed.

He said, “One day, Nigerians would know that these are the agents of the APC. How can someone describe a meeting attended by the only governor in the zone as being fake?

“These are the agents of the APC and, at the appropriate time, Nigerians would know their intentions.

“We know there was a judgment, but we have appealed, just as Senator Ali Modu Sheriff appealed the judgment of the lower court which sacked him from office.

“When a judgment is appealed, it is believed that that will serve as a stay of execution.”