He said that, though he has not seen any official word through the party machinery about the purported action of the five Ekiti lawmakers, he feel compelled to speak in order to dispel the rumour and false report from assuming the aspect of fact.
The former Lagos State governor said the news of the Bamidele's removal came to him as a surprise and he considered the decision as truncation of ongoing efforts at reconciliation by the party leadership which has visited Ekiti State recently in the same regard.
In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, Tinubu said from his vantage point of view, he does not believe the members of the Ekiti Caucus could possibly take such a step to violate established party rules, processes and traditions for "such a scant reason" given their "democratic pedigree".
"For instance, decisions of this critical nature must be done with the consultation of the national leadership of the party. From what I can gather, our national chairman and the party's leadership were never consulted or notified about the pendency of such a stark action. For thar reason alone, if such an action has been taken, those who did so should retrace their steps to avoid creating an unnecessary difficulty for themselves and the Ekiti chapter of the party," Tinubu said.
He further added that beyond the issue of procedure, there was still the need to promote internal democracy, saying "any party member has a right to contest the governorship of Ekiti or any other state... including Opeyemi Bamidele. We must protect and smoother unpopular and minority positions. If we don't like it, we vote against it at the appropriate time but we do not punish people simply for thinking differently."
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