A member of Gombe state House of Assembly, Hon Rambi Ibrahim Ayala, has said the one-month suspension imposed on him by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was a violation of his right as a loyal party chieftain.
Ayala, who is one of the few opposition members in the state assembly alleged that some few party members were hell-bent on thwarting his election since the party primaries in 2018.
He said though he won the primaries but was denied the right to bear the party’s flag until he sought redress in courts up to the Supreme Court before he could reclaim his mandate after the 2019 general elections.
Reacting Wednesday to a letter purportedly suspending him from the party for one month, Ayala dismissed it saying the action was “laughable, needless, uncalled for and an invitation to crisis”.
He said he has already instructed his lawyers to write to the party to withdraw the suspension because, “as a loyal party member and a Nigerian, I believe my rights have been grossly violated”.
Ayala said the suspension has not embarrassed him but brought public disrepute especially since the action was conveyed in press releases in the media to the general public.
He explained that his alleged offences as contained in the letter were the alleged disrespectful he made during a meeting held on 30th June, 2020 and for staging a walk before the meeting ended.
“My only offense, according to the letter was that I said, replacing elected ward officials in Billiri North, Baganje North and Tal wards after being sworn more than two months after the election, will not bring peaceful coexistence, harmony and will not augur well for the party.
“The second reason was that I walked out of the meeting before all the agenda were exhausted. In actual fact, I took an excuse to leave the meeting towards the end after all the agenda were discussed to attend to another pressing issue.
“As far as I am concerned, I remain with the PDP and I will continue to ensure that my rights and privileges are protected”.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of PDP supporters from Billiri South in Billiri Local Government Area have given a letter expressing a vote-of-confidence to the member.
The letter was signed by its chairman and PRO, Lewis Jinjiri and Iliyasu Yusuf respectively, and were copied to the PDP state chairman, Major General MA Kwaskebe (rtd).
The said members would resist any attempt to intimidate or harass Hon Rambi Ibrahim Ayala under any pretense, stressing that any such intimidation would spell doom for the party.
