ZLP Says Osuntokun No Longer Its Member, INEC Insists He Is

The National Chairman/Presidential Candidate Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, has clarified the controversy generated by the appointment of Mr. Akin Osuntoku as the Director General (DG) of Peter Obi Campaign Organisation.

Following the resignation of Dr. Doyin Okupe, erstwhile DG of the Obi/Datti Campaign Council, Osuntoku was named as his replacement.

Sequel to this development, issues were raised as to his alleged dual membership of two political parties, alleging that he is still the senatorial candidate on the platform of the ZLP in Ekiti State.

In a statement issued on Friday, Chief Nwanyanwu said the matters raised were not necessary, as Osuntokun had seized to be member of the ZLP since August 2022.

According to Nyanyanwu, Osuntoku resigned from the ZLP since August 2022 and therefore no longer a member of the party, saying that prior to his resignation from ZLP, he held the ticket as a senatorial candidate in Ekiti.

He said, “As at the time of his resignation, we could not replace him because the window allowed by the Electoral Act for substitution had elapsed.

“We hold no grudges because it is his fundamental right to associate and exit any organisation. We wish him well in his new found greener pasture. We believe this will put to rest, the barrage of inquiries to us in this regard.”

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that Osuntokun remains the senatorial candidate for Ekiti Central Senatorial Zone under ZLP.

However, renowned constitutional lawyer and former National Secretary of the Labour Party, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, has said that no law in Nigerian Constitution gives directive on how to appoint the DG of a political campaign.

The lawyer made this statement following the reactions that trailed the appointment of a former Political Adviser in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration and former Director of the PDP Presidential Campaign in 2011, Osuntokun, as the new DG of Obi/Datti Campaign Council to replace Dr. Doyin Okupe, on Friday, in Abuja.