The executive committee of the All Progressives Congress, Ward 4, in Sagamu LGA of Ogun, has insisted that Senator Gbenga Daniel’s suspension from the party remains in effect.
This comes after the party’s National Working Committee declared that Mr Daniel, a former governor of the state, is still a bona fide member.
Mr Daniel was suspended by the Ogun chapter of the APC in August, but a November 17 letter by the NWC directed the chapter to cease further correspondence on the matter pending a thorough investigation by the party’s national leadership.
Addressing journalists at the ward secretariat in Sabo, Sagamu, its secretary, Oluwole Aduroja, said the decision to suspend Mr Daniel followed due process after he repeatedly failed to honour invitations to defend himself against allegations of anti-party activities.
Speaking on behalf of the 19-member executive committee, including the ward chairman, Adebayo Ismail, Mr Aduroja said their clarification was necessary in response to a statement issued by MJS Partners, the law firm representing Mr Daniel, following the November 17 letter from the APC national secretariat.
He explained that the ward executives unanimously agreed to suspend Mr Daniel after he refused to appear before an investigative panel probing petitions accusing him of conduct deemed detrimental to the party.
Mr Aduroja traced the senator’s alleged misconduct to the last general elections, claiming that Mr Daniel worked against the interest of the APC and its candidates in Ogun.
“Beyond the elections, he further attempted to obstruct and frustrate the course of justice during the election petition tribunal sittings through actions and interventions that were directly hostile to the interest of the APC and its candidates. These and many more remain the unchallenged anti-party activities of the suspended senator,” he alleged.
Reacting to the position of APC national secretary, Senator Surajudeen Bashiru, as contained in the November 17 letter, Mr Aduroja argued that the party’s constitution empowers executive committees at all levels — ward, local government, state, zonal or national — to initiate disciplinary action against erring members.
He further noted that although Article 21(5)(vii) gives the NWC authority to suspend members, it does not invalidate the disciplinary powers of other executive bodies, nor does it place their decisions under NWC review.
“On the contrary, any disciplinary action taken by an executive council, including suspension, is subject only to appeal as outlined in Article 21(4). For emphasis, no provision of Article 21(4) subjects the decision to suspend the senator to the oversight of the National Working Committee,” he said, while reaffirming Ward 4’s commitment to upholding discipline, fairness and due process within the APC, and insisting that “the suspension of Senator Gbenga Daniel remains in full effect.”
