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The lingering leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party may affect its convention fixed for August 17, if the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the party fails to meet conditions for reconciliation given by his rival Ali Modu Sheriff
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Aug 1, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may have fixed August 17, for its national convention, but the lingering leadership crisis in the party is likely to mar it. The date was announced by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the party who appears to have gained the recognition of the Independent National Electoral Commission which accepted its candidate for the Edo guber election while rejecting that presented by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, factional chairman of the party.
Sheriff has insisted that unless the conditions he had set out were met, he would not let go of his claim to the chairmanship of the party till 2018. He made this known while receiving a delegation from the 17 local governments of the Abia state chapter of the PDP who paid him a solidarity visit in Abuja, on Monday, July 18.
Sheriff declared that he was ready to let go of his claim to the chairmanship of the party in deference to the intervention by the governors of Taraba and Gombe States if the conditions that he gave were met.
He insisted that his conditions were based on the agreement reached at the reconciliatory meeting held at the Taraba State Government House under the chairmanship of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, with Senator Ibrahim Mantu as deputy chairman “Proposals were put forward in Taraba and discussions cannot go forward until you handle it from the foundation. In Taraba, all issues put forward were for Makarfi Caretaker Committee to be dissolved,” he said.
Sheriff revealed that he could only let go of his claim to the chairmanship of the party if he was allowed to nominate 10 members to join the other 10 that would be nominated by the National Caretaker Committee, headed by Senator Makarfi, to organise a fresh convention for the party.
He added that the convention of the party being proposed must be held in Abuja, adding that the impunity which had prevailed in the party in the past and led it to the present sorry state must be stopped.
Sheriff had on Wednesday, July 13, warned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to obey court rulings and recognise Mathew Iduoreyekemwen as the governorship candidate of the party for the September 10, governorship election in Edo State. He insisted that only his faction of the party could present a candidate for the upcoming governorship election in Edo.
He therefore called on the INEC to obey an Abuja Federal High Court order, which reinstated him as national chairman of the party. He stated this when members of South-South Young Professionals for Good Governance visited him in Abuja. Sheriff, who was represented at the visit by Cairo Ojougboh, ousted National Vice Chairman (South-South) said Iduoriyekwemwen remained PDP’s authentic candidate for the Edo election.
“We had a rumour that INEC has accepted a person other than our own candidate for PDP for Edo governorship election. I hereby dispel this rumour and categorically say that INEC has not yet communicated to us on this matter; INEC is still considering all the judgments and orders.
“As we speak today, the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja specifically ordered INEC to accept Iduoreyekemwen’s candidature. The Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, is not superior to that of Abuja. As such, the Port Harcourt Court cannot reverse the specific orders that INEC can only accept candidate for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections from the Sheriff-led authentic PDP.”
Sheriff added that the Port Harcourt judgement was not specific about the party’s candidature for Edo and Ondo states governorship elections. “We call on INEC to obey the specific orders of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which stated that the commission should accept only the candidate submitted by Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, and on that I stand. PDP is one and not two. There are no factions in PDP and I remain the chairman of the party,” he said.
Sheriff also called on the party supporters and loyalists to remain calm as efforts were ongoing to address the issue. “We also encourage our candidate, Iduoriyekwemwen, to continue with his campaign vigorously to ensure that he wins the election.”
However, Makarfi while addressing journalists at the end of an expanded caucus meeting of the party with members of the caretaker committee in Abuja, said the party was still open to accepting all those who are with Senator Sheriff. The expanded caucus is made of the state governors, members of the Board of Trustees of the party, the party’s principal officers in the National Assembly and other stakeholders.
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