Rather than thaw, the crisis within the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Kwara state chapter worsened on Wednesday as some members of the party’s Caretaker Committee as well as the committee of Local Government Caretaker Committees called for disciplinary actions against those who on Tuesday announced the removal of Mr. Kayode Olawepo as state chairman of the party.

Olawepo was removed on Tuesday and replaced by Mr Toyin Aynila. The development followed months of speculations about a big crack within the fold of the major opposition party in the state. Last week, Olawepo attempted to stop a meeting by a group, “Action Congress of Nigeria Stakeholders Forum” which had the backing of the party’s candidate in the last gubernatorial election, Mr. Dele Belgore.

Olawepo, it was believed, had the backing of the party’s National Publicity Secretary and one-time gubernatorial candidate of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The crux of the crisis is believed to be a clash of interest between Mohamed and Belgore.

But on Wednesday, supporters of Olawepo within the Caretaker Committee issued a statement denouncing his removal. Yesterday’s statement was signed by Chief Ayanda Fajenyo, Deputy Chairman,   Kwara State ACN committee of LGA chairmen and Alhaji Raimi Jimoh Idera, for the State Caretaker Committee.

Text of the statement, made available to newsmen in Ilorin, reads: “Contrary to what was contained in the media yesterday that Mr. Kayode Olawepo has been suspended and removed as the chairman of Kwara State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on framed up allegations by a few members of the state caretaker committee.          
                                                                                                
“In a statement issued in Ilorin on Wednesday by members of the state caretaker committee and chairmen of local government caretaker committees signed by Alhaji Raimi Idera and Chief Ayanda Fajenyo said the purported removal exist only in the imagination of the movers of that motion and a former gubernatorial candidate of the party who is their sole sponsor.

“The desire to remove our party chairman in Kwara State is being nursed by a former gubernatorial candidate of the party and his cronies using the media to achieve what they could not achieve in the real sense of it. For the avoidance of doubt the same feckless people announced the dissolution of the party structure at a ramshackle rally on March 28, 2013 only to use the same structure to remove a legally appointed official of the party.

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