The Labour Party (LP) in Ogun State has expelled the party’s Director General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Doyin Okupe and 10 others for failure to perform their financial obligation as members of the party for the past six months.
The party said that this is contrary to the dictate of the party’s constitution.
Okupe was dismissed alongside Abayomi Collins, Abel Olaleye, Jagun Lookman, Olori Oluwabukola Soyoye, Gbadebo Fesomade, (former State Treasurer), and Abdulmalik Olaleye (former State Youth Leader). The rest are Jide Amusan( former State Publicity Secretary), Adeshina Wasiu Shojobi (former Asst State Youth Leader), Deborah Adewale, (former Senatorial Women Leader Ogun East), and Olatunde Abolade (former Asst State Secretary).
The expulsion was part of the resolutions reached at the end of a meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Thursday.
The party leadership in the state called for the emergence of a new Director General of Northern extraction to reflect the national character and political balance.
According to the Labour Party, “Article 9(3) iii of our Party’s Constitution states as follows: ‘only members who pay their monthly membership dues at rates prescribed shall be deemed to be bonafide members of the party. Arrears of dues of up to six months shall lead to forfeiture of membership,” the State Chairman of the party Michael Ashade said.
“Despite repeated demands from various meetings I had with Dr. Doyin Okupe in respect of his mandatory constitutional requirements to fulfill membership status, he has failed woefully in this regard with some others to flagrantly disobey the Constitution of the Labour party.
“In line with article 19(3) of the Labour Party constitutional provision, we declare that Dr. Doyin Okupe, having failed in the payment of his membership dues for the last six months of joining the party, has forfeited his membership of the party and no longer fit and competent to continue to act as the DG of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).
“We hereby notify our National Chairman, Bar Julius Abure and Labour Party Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi that it’s expedient to obey the Constitution of the party by immediately appointing another DG for the PCC and that should come from the North to reflect Federal Characters and political balance.”
The party maintained that the action is imperative in order to enforce discipline and internal democracy.
Okupe was accused of polarising the party in the South-West states “with his crops of PDP dissidents political liabilities who are only using Labour Party to revive their not only irredeemable dead political and financial lives but has successfully stolen all that is available in LP”.
