Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The Chairman of Action Democratic Party (ADP), Ekiti State Chapter, Pastor Olakunle Abegunde, has dumped the party over alleged dictatorship.
At a Press Conference in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, Abegunde, said his defection alongside other executive members of the party, was as a result of alleged inept and gross incompetence of the party’s national body.
Abegunde, flanked by other leadership of the ADP across the 16 local governments of the state, said that himself and other leadership of the party would soon announce their new political party after due consultations.
He blamed the national leadership and the Governorship Candidate of the pADP, Mrs. Kemi Elebute-Halle, over what he called unwarranted suspension meted to him, explaining that he has been financing the party solely since 2017.
The embattled ADP’s chairman described the letter purportedly sent to him from the national headquarter’s of the party in Abuja as unnecessary and mischievous, saying it was a deliberate act to destabilise the party ahead of the June 18, 2022 election in the state.
He said: “One would have expected the author of the letter, if he was not trying to be mischievous, to mention one or two items belonging to the ADP in Ekiti State. The party does not own anything in cash or kind in Ekiti.
“Ordinarily, I ought not to have acted on the letter, which was not meant for me, as it was wrongly addressed to another person, but must I continue under this kind of puppets?
“The party has never released any kobo to the state, despite all the revenues accruing to her from this state and other states of the federation.
“Considering the mal-administration and unbearable inadequacies characterising the leadership of the party, I would have resigned my membership about three months ago, but I realised that doing so might negatively affect the efforts of the candidate of the party in the forthcoming election.”
His resignation came few days after the party’s Deputy Governorship Candidate, Mr. Idowu Afuye, defected from the party.
But speaking on the deputy governorship candidate of the party who dumped the party few days ago, Abegunde said that the self-acclaimed deputy is a new member of the party, who was not popular until he was brought by the governorship candidate.
On his refusal to honour the invitation of the national leadership of the party, he stated that the letter sent to him from the national was wrongly addressed and empty, which he said further substantiated the bad and inept leadership style of the leaders at that level.
