The Lagos Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has debunked claims that the party chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, suspended thousands of members in Alimosho Local Government after they assaulted him at the Secretariat in Ikeja.
It said that the party cannot unilaterally suspend any member, saying none of the State APC chairman under the party’s law have the right to embark on such action unilaterally.
According to the APC, the party’s constitution succinctly outlined procedures for suspension of any member.
The parties stance came hours after reports indicated that the party chairman has suspended members that allegedly assaulted him last month.
The report alleged that the move was part of retaliation by the chairman to get back at members that assaulted him during a protest to address leadership crisis rocking Alimosho chapter of the party.
Debunking reports on the members suspension, the party’s spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, in a statement made available to The Guild on Sunday, stressed that the allegations made in the reports were untrue and should be disregarded by members of the public.
Oladejo noted that the party constitution hasn’t been adjusted and there was no where in the law where any leader of the party is permitted to singlehandedly take such critical decision at the highest organ of the APC in the states.
The Guild gathered that suspension of members starts at the Ward level of the APC.
According to the statement, “We wish to state unequivocally that there’s no truth in the allegation.
“The Lagos State Chairman of APC , Cornelius Ojelabi remains committed to the unity of the party and acts that engender peaceful co-existence of all members.
APC as a political party , made up of members with different aspirations , naturally has its fair share of wranglings and suspicions that can always be resolved within the framework of its constitutional provisions.
“The chairman as an experienced individual in party politics and governance is always prepared to bend backwards to accommodate all opinions without trampling on the rights of others.
“He opines that the interests of caucuses should not over-ride that of the party which remains cohesion among members and ensuring that we act as checks to our elected and appointed officials in government as regards service delivery.
“There’s no provision in the party’s constitution that can be invoked for the chairman to unilaterally suspend a member.
“Members of the public are hereby advised to ignore statements that are designed to create an imaginary conflict and deliberate falsehood that are basically self serving”.
