The Ojo Chapter of the Labour Party in Lagos has decided to suspend Seyi Sowunmi, the representative for Ojo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, for a period of three months.
This decision was made public on Wednesday through a statement jointly issued by Oluwanifemi Elegbede, the Chairman, and Blessing Okafor, the Secretary of the Ojo Labour Party.
Party officials indicated that the suspension stems from Sowunmi’s failure to respond to a summons to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee within 24 hours. The committee had requested his presence on August 26, 2024, to discuss several issues, but Sowunmi and his office did not provide a response in time.
The leadership of the party characterized Sowunmi’s actions as blatant insubordination. “Your failure to attend the disciplinary committee meeting as summoned reflects a serious disregard for party protocols,” the statement noted, citing Article 20(B3) of the party’s constitution.
Moreover, the Labour Party alleged that Sowunmi had not been attending ward meetings and was not registered in the wards he claims to represent. Letters from both Ward A and Ward D of the Ojo Local Government Area confirmed his lack of registration, which contravenes Article 20(B5) of the party constitution.
The party further accused Sowunmi of failing to work cooperatively with the established leadership and attempting to oust party officials without adhering to proper procedures, which constitutes a violation of Article 20(B7).
Additionally, the Labour Party pointed out that Sowunmi’s decision to initiate legal action against the party without first utilizing all available internal dispute resolution processes contributed significantly to the suspension.
In light of these findings, the disciplinary committee proposed a three-month suspension for Sowunmi, which was swiftly approved by the Ojo Chapter of the party.
The suspension is effective immediately, as stated in the announcement.
