The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and factional leader, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, dug deeper in the trenches, yesterday, when they clashed over the position of the Chairmen of 23 states’ chapters on the crisis rocking the party.
The states’ Chairmen had converged in Abuja where they endorsed Sheriff and the recommendations made by the Governor Seriake Dickson Reconciliation Committee for the PDP National Convention not to hold later than June 2017.
Makarfi, the Chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, outlawed by the Court of Appeal, dismissed the meeting and its resolution which he described as “fake”.
“At the illegal assembly held in Abuja, on Friday night, the group of fake state Chairmen also announced its support for the illegal occupation of the party secretariat by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff under the pretext of being PDP National Chairman”, a statement by Makarfi said.
Ekiti State Chapter of the PDP also disowned the Abuja meeting of the party Chairmen, saying those who attended were appointed by Sheriff. The 23 Chapters’ Chairmen, in a communique read by the Federal Capital PDP Chairman, Yunusa Suleiman, after the meeting, said that following the Court of Appeal judgement affirming Sheriff as party National Chairman, it was only wise that all PDP members supported him.
According to them, their support was without prejudice to the appeal lodged by the Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party at the Supreme Court, saying they will abide by the decision from the apex court. The insisted that the political solution proffered by former President Goodluck Jonathan was the best way out of the crisis.
They communique said: “The Peoples Democratic Party Chapter Chairmen are very concerned about the crisis engulfing the party as it is degenerating into the several decamping from the party across the nation. “Bearing in mind the upcoming presidential election timeline recently announced by the INEC as well as other elections fast approaching, and as key political actors of the polity, we cannot sit back and allow our party degenerate to this level and have thus decided to come forward and proffer solutions to this crisis.”
It went on: “In line with the only template presented by the Peace and Reconciliation Committee of our party headed by Hon Henry Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State, we wish to state that we support the recommendation that a political solution is the best and only solution to our crisis without prejudice to the on going judicial processes, “We are also in support of the committees’ recommendation of an all inclusive unity convention to be held as soon as possible. “We therefore suggest that every organ of the party group or individuals that has anything to add to the aforementioned recommendations should present same for consideration and deliberations as we believe this will deepen our internal democracy and support an all inclusive regeneration of the party.
“We as legitimately elected Chairmen wish to state on the grounds of clarity that we shall never be in support or be a part of any thought of tinkering with the option of leaving the PDP and forming another party… “We call upon all party leaders and member to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure the survival of the party at this critical period of our history. “We also call upon the National Chairman Senator Ali Modu Sherriff and the National Working Committee (NWC) to abide by the recommendations of the Peace and Reconciliation Committee for the sake of our great party.
But in a reaction, Makarfi described the Chairmen as fake. “The attention of the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to another illegality perpetrated by dissidents within our Party through the alleged endorsement of the report of the Governor Seriake Dickson’s led Reconciliation Committee of the PDP at an assembly of 23 men purporting to be different state chairmen of our Party”, he said in a statement.
“At the illegal assembly held in Abuja on Friday night, the group of fake state chairmen also announced their support for the illegal occupation of the Party Secretariat by Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff under the pretext of being PDP National Chairman. “We wish to state without ambiguity that the action of these elements is a ruse, lies from the pit of hell and a mere continuation of the impunity of Senator Sheriff and his dissident backers within the Party. “For the records, we wish to make it abundantly clear that many of those men are not elected state chairmen of our Party, not at any time, even when Senator Sheriff was the recognised Chairman of the Party.
Many of those who attended the meeting and their sponsors are double dealers and in politics such as we play in Nigeria it is not uncommon to find those who will run with the hare and hunt with the fox”. Ekiti State Chapter of the PDP, in a reaction, yesterday, described the Abuja meeting of the States’ Chairmen of the party as a mere gathering of strange people parading themselves as leaders of the PDP on the strength of their appointment by Sheriff. This was contained in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti, the state Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Jackson Adebayo.
Credit: Vanguard
