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  • Makarfi slams Dickson’s proposal on PDP crisis

    Makarfi slams Dickson’s proposal on PDP crisis

    Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has criricised as “selfish” Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson’s proposal on the party’s crisis.

    According to him, the governor took a unilateral decision against the unanimous proposal drafted at a meeting of 11 PDP governors with former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said Dickson’s proposal, submitted to court-backed chairman Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, is a mischievous act that does not bode well for the party.

    The former Kaduna State Governor spoke in Kaduna at the weekend when he visited the secretariat of the State Correspondents Chapel of NUJ, which was gutted by fire last week.

    The former Kaduna State Governor said: “Just a week before Governor Dickson submitted his report to Modu Sheriff, the 11 PDP governors including himself; met with former President Goodluck Jonathan and came out with a unanimous proposal on the way out of the crisis in the party. Then, he (Dickson) pulled out and made a proposal, which he presented to Modu Sheriff.

    “Well, for us the issues in the PDP are not just about conducting convention, they are fundamental. How do you go for convention if you don’t address these fundamental issues and achieve reconciliation? You have not talked about the problems, you have not sorted them out and you are more concerned about a committee to organise convention.  That means you will go and do convention while the crisis is still on.

    “Governor Dickson was at the meeting of the governors and the former President where they came out with a unanimous proposal, so, how can he pull himself out a week after and make his own proposal? If he had anything contrary to what they agreed on, why didn’t he suggest it at that meeting? It didn’t make sense. Of 11 governors, you pulled yourself out and you made a separate proposal and presented to Modu Sheriff.

    “The proposal by the former President and the 11 governors was presented to us, to the BOT Chairman and to Modu Sheriff. If anything is going to change, they should go back to former President Jonathan and the other governors to discuss and review the responses from us, from BOT, from Modu Sheriff.

    “But, he spoke with me informally and said he was bringing his proposal, which I never saw. He called the former President and they were to meet on Wednesday, then he also called the BOT Chairman, who gave him appointment for Wednesday, only for him to go and submit his proposal to Modu Sheriff to go ahead and conduct the convention. And that is what Sheriff has been looking for. Now, he got somebody asking him to go ahead and conduct convention.

    “So, what is Governor Dickson up to? I don’t know, but it is definitely an agenda not good for the PDP. His proposal is even a breach of the Court of Appeal judgment, because he is suggesting going for convention in June. Court of Appeal said you cannot hold convention until August this year based on the tenure it recognised”, he explained.

    Makarfi said, even the Sheriff group is not complying with the Court of Appeal judgment, as he (Sheriff) is still parading himself around with party officials he single-handedly appointed after the 21st May, 2016, when the court ordered that the status quo before 21st May should be reverted to.

    He however said the way out of the PDP crisis was for all national officials to resign their positions, sign indemnity not to contest such resignation in court, then form a committee, consisting of members from his and Sheriff’s groups to organise a transparent convention, where there would be a level playing field for all the groups.

    He said the PDP despite its crisis has perfected its strategies, which he said they are keeping to their hearts, ahead of the gubernatorial elections in Ekiti, Anambra and Osun later in the year.

  • S/West PDP threatens Makarfi, Sheriff peace deal

    S/West PDP threatens Makarfi, Sheriff peace deal

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  peace deal brokered by the Governor Seriake Dickson-led reconciliation committee has run into a brick wall in the Southwest.

    Leading party chieftains in the zone are in a quandary on how the two factions in the area are going to reconcile and work together as before.

    One of the factions is with Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Senator Ahmed Makarfi while the other lines up behind Senator Buruji Kashamu (Ogun East) and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

    The reconciliation committee, The Nation gathered, failed to device means of uniting the two camps just yet.

    Fayose and Kashamu, party sources said, are having difficulty in agreeing  on which of the factional executive committees in the six states of the zone  are authentic  or not going by the ruling of the Appeal court which affirmed Senator Modu Sherif as the legitimate national Chairman of the party.

    Sources also said the two factions are not favourably disposed to the idea of having the state executive committees harmonized ahead of the proposed unity convention.

    In effect, it may be impossible for the reconciliation committee or the convention planning committee, as the case may be, to draw up an acceptable delegate list for the zone.

    Kashamu and Makanjuola Ogundipe, who are the arrowheads of the Sheriff faction in the zone are said to be insisting that their factional executives across the states in the zone remain the authentic leaders even when some of the members of the said executives were handpicked following the factionalization of the party.

    The Fayose faction has also rejected the harmonization of the executives in Ekiti State where Ogundipe also hails from. The situation, if it persists, party sources said, will make the processes that will lead to the proposed unity convention very difficult, if not impossible, in the zone.

    According to one source, the process of reconciliation and harmonization is proving much easier in other zones of the country. The Southwest, which is being touted by party stakeholders to produce the next chairman of the party, is the major headache of promoters of the much awaited unity convention.

    “Party leaders and other stakeholders have been meeting over a possible solution to the logjam in the Southwest zone. The region is where the factionalization of the party is the most serious. The personal differences between Fayose and Kashamu, which continue to fester unabated, even after the latest efforts to unite the party, are making things difficult,” the source said.

    “Though nothing has come out of the meetings, I can tell you that our leaders are determined to break the ice because without resolving the many issues plaguing the party in the Southwest, a unity convention, as planned by the reconciliation committee, may simply be an impossibility.

    “Going by the pronouncement of the appeal court which recognized Sheriff as the national Chairman, it is easy to determine the authentic executive committees in the states of other zones of the country, but it is not so in the Southwest where state excos were in themselves fictionalized and reconstituted by the various factions.”

    Meanwhile, in a bid to tidy up its strategies ahead of the convention, the Makarfi faction in the zone may have zoned the national chairmanship of the party to Lagos State, with Chief Bode George, former deputy national chairman of the party, looking good to get the support of the Fayose-led camp.

    Sources close to the leadership of the faction in the zone told The Nation that although the proposed procedure for the said national convention is still being discussed by the parties, the Southwest zone is already strategising on how to ensure a hitch free contest for the national chairmanship position should it be zoned to the region.

    “The issue has been discussed and it was agreed that Lagos State should get the national chairmanship if zoned to us. Other positions likely to be given to us have also being zoned. This is basically to ensure that we present a common front whenever the convention is to be held,” our source said.

    But sources close to the Kashamu camp insisted that the Ogun senator will never agree to the candidacy of Bode George under any arrangement. According to a zonal executive committee member of the faction from Ogun State, Kashamu strongly believes that George is one of the biggest problems of PDP in the Southwest.

    “That is one other problem the unity convention will face. Any reconciliation that gives Bode George a chance to become national chairman will be rejected by Senator Kashamu who is the leader of the party in the Southwest. This is largely because he sees George as one of the biggest problems of PDP in the Southwest,” a source said.

  • Makarfi urges transparency in management of Buhari’s health

    Makarfi urges transparency in management of Buhari’s health

    The Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has urged the Presidency to be more transparent in the management of President Muhammadu Buhari’s health issues.

    In a statement yesterday by the spokesman of the Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the faction joined other Nigerians to welcome the President back home from his 50-day medical vacation to the United Kingdom.

    The statement said: “We pray for the President’s complete recovery and advise the Presidency to be more transparent in managing the health of President Muhmmadu Buhari.

    “Nigerians deserve to know the  health status of their President and how it is being managed.

    “In the same vein, we thank the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for holding fort creditably while the President was away; and urge him to continue to work assiduously to lift the nation out of this debilitating economic recession.

    “To achieve this, all hands must be on deck. There is therefore the need to reduce political tension and bring all Nigerians together.

    “We call on all Nigerians to continue to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari’s quick recovery; and wisdom for the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo in the onerous task of steering the ship of state.”

  • PDP won’t hold any convention under Sheriff – Adeyeye

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Caretaker Committee has said the party would not hold any national convention under the leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff

    The Publicity Secretary of the Committee, Dayo Adeyeye, told journalists on Thursday in Abuja that the party could not trust Sheriff with its leadership.

    He added that given the “lawless and untoward behaviour of Sheriff so far,” it appeared that there would be no meeting point in resolving the party crisis.

    Adeyeye, who described Sheriff –led National Working Committee (NWC) as illegal, urged him to immediately stop operating on behalf of the party.

    He also urged Sheriff to stop parading himself as Acting National Chairman of PDP following the judgment of an Abuja High Court delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi on June 29, 2016.

    The court judgement, according to Adeyeye nullified the 2014 Amendment to the PDP Constitution that produced Sheriff as Acting National Chairman of the PDP and that the judgement was never appealed.

    Adeyeye added that there was another valid judgment delivered on Augut 17, 2016 by Justice Nwamaka Ogbonnaya of the FCT High Court in Abuja which reaffirmed Sheriff’s sack as PDP Chairman.

    NAN

     

  • Makarfi urges prayers for Buhari’s full recovery

    The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi, has urged Nigerians to continue praying for the full recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “We are happy to welcome the President from his medical vacation in London. We welcome him home; but we will continue to pray for his full recovery,” Makarfi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.

    Buhari, who traveled to London on a medical vacation on January 19, returned to the country on Friday.

    “The PDP will continue to pray for the President; all Nigerians should do same.

    “Presiding over Nigeria is a huge task, so we must pray for sound and steady health so that Buhari can effectively handle that tough job,” Makarfi said, in his reaction to the President’s return to the country.

     

  • Makarfi vows to flush Sheriff out of PDP

    Makarfi vows to flush Sheriff out of PDP

    •Party chair: I’m for peace

    The protracted Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership crisis boiled over yesterday as Caretaker Committee Chairman Ahmed Makarfi vowed to flush out court-backed party chair Ali Modu Sheriff.

    But Sheriff insists that he means well for the PDP. He has accepted the recommendations of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led Reconciliation Committee for a national convention tentatively fixed for June 30.

    The two factions made their positions known at separate media briefings in Abuja.

    Makarfi camp spokesman Dayo Adeyeye said it would be a disaster for the party to allow Sheriff preside over the planned convention.

    Describing Sheriff as “a snake under the party’s roof”, Adeyeye said the Caretaker Committee, in agreement with all organs and stakeholders in the PDP, would deploy all legal means to ensure that Sheriff is chased out of the party.

    Asking Sheriff to stop parading himself as the chairman of the PDP, the Makarfi camp pointed out that the spirit and letter of the February  17 judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal did not confer the chairmanship on the ex-Borno State Governor.

    Said Adeyeye: “To buttress this, the general public will also recall that the judgment of the Appeal Court, Port Harcourt Division of Friday, February 17, 2017 that nullified the national convention of May 21, 2016 limited itself solely to the legality or otherwise of the National Convention of May 21st, 2016 and not on the legality or otherwise of the appointment of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the Acting National Chairman of the PDP.

    “Firstly, let us remind the public of our earlier calls on Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to stop parading himself as Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the judgement of an Abuja High Court delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi on June 29, 2016 in which the court nullified the 2014 Amendment to the PDP Constitution that produced Senator Sheriff as Acting National Chairman of the PDP.

    “This judgment was never appealed by Senator Sheriff and the time frame stipulated by law for the appeal has elapsed and, as such, the judgment subsists.

    “Another judgment delivered on August 17, 2016 by Justice Nwamaka Ogbonnaya of the FCT High Court in Abuja reaffirmed the ‘sack’ of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the chairman of the PDP on the ground that the judgment of Justice Valentine Ashi, which nullified his appointment, has not been set aside or vacated and therefore it’s subsisting.

    “Justice Ogbonnaya further held that all actions taken by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff are null, void and of no effect; and the Order further restrained him from parading himself as the Acting National Chairman of the party.

    “Once again, he is currently an illegal Acting National Chairman, given the decisions of the courts, the constitution of the PDP, decision of the National Convention coupled with his act of breaking and entering into the national secretariat of our great party.

    “It is interesting to note that Senator Sheriff is very much aware of the binding implication of the subsisting judgments on his ‘status’ as national chairman because we have been reliably informed that he is now seeking the leave of court to appeal the judgment. But, unfortunately, time is against this latter move. So, he is an illegal national chairman”.

    Ruling out any possibility of reconciliation with Sheriff, the Makarfi camp said there are more disturbing issues that could ultimately forestall efforts by stakeholders to unite Sheriff with the party.

    But Sheriff has continued to restate his pledge to rebuild and unite the party, saying that in line with the recommendations of the Dickson Committee, he would be convening the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in the days ahead.

    According to him, it is only NEC that can approve preparation for the national convention after deliberations.

    Sheriff said: “From today, I am going to meet with all the organs of the party and collect their list of membership with a view to picking their members to be part of the convention committee.

    “We are going to contact the National Assembly caucus, the Board of Trustees and other stakeholders. We are writing them formally on that, so that we can collect the specific number of nominees that are required.”

    He also hinted of plans to organise congresses in Oyo, Kwara, Sokoto, Lagos and Anambra states where attempts to conduct the exercise in 2016 collapsed.

    But the Makarfi camp dismissed the Sheriff camp’s plan with a wave of the hand, saying that none of the stakeholders would respond to its overtures. It called on party members in those states to boycott the congresses in case Sheriff decides to conduct same.

    Adeyeye said: “All the party organs and stakeholders are with us and none of them will respond to this deception. There is no way Sheriff would be allowed to conduct a convention for the PDP. It is at the convention that everybody would see his true self. He is an agent of the ruling party.

    “We wish to use this opportunity to inform and clarify to our members and teeming supporters nationwide that the PDP has no standing ‘Reconciliation Committee’ chaired by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Rt. Hon. Seriake Dickson.

    “However, we respect our Governor, Seriake Dickson and acknowledge his effort towards holding the next national convention. But he acted hastily and presented the proposal in error to Senator Sheriff.”

    According Adeyeye, the four ad-hoc committees set up by the party for the botched May 21, 2016 Port Harcourt convention ceased to exist. The ad hoc committees were inaugurated by Sheriff.

    Adeyeye listed the committees to include the National Convention Planning Committee, chaired by the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, with Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State as Deputy Chairman and Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State as Secretary; the Reconciliation Committee is chaired by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Henry Seriake Dickson, with Senator Ibrahim Mantu as the Deputy Chairman;  and Finance Committee, chaired by the Governor of Gombe State, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, with Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Deputy Chairman.

    The Zoning Committee is chaired by the Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State. Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State Mr. Kelechi Igwe is the Secretary.

    “These committees were inaugurated by Senator Sheriff as the Acting National Chairman on April 5, 2016 to carry out their specific roles in line with the directives of the 69th NEC for a hitch-free national convention in May 2016.

    “That Reconciliation Committee was constituted to reconcile aggrieved party members before the National Convention in Port Harcourt”, he added.

    The Caretaker Committee said it would continue to work with all the organs of the party to for reconciliation efforts that will bring lasting peace to the PDP, to the exclusion of Sheriff.

    Listing conditions for a way forward, the Caretaker Committee called on Sheriff to vacate the party secretariat immediately or risked being forced out by security agencies.

    “Given the lawless and untoward behavior of Senator Sheriff so far, it appears that there will be no meeting point in this matter. However, without prejudice to the appeal suit before the Supreme Court challenging the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal, the National Caretaker Committee working for the organs of the party and the people is not averse to reconciliation processes that may result in a workable ‘political solution’ as proposed by the Governors’ Forum with the former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    “The present illegally constituted NWC, led by Senator Sheriff, must stop operations on behalf of the party immediately. We want to state unequivocally that the party will not hold any national convention under the leadership of Senator Sheriff.

    “We are determined to pursue the matter before the Supreme Court conclusively in the interest of justice, equity, fair play and democracy in general.

    “Finally, we call on all our members, teeming supporters and all lovers of democracy to be calm and continue to support the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee in its quest to return our great party to the people in line with the ideals of our founding fathers.

    “It is indeed our desire to rebuild, revive and revitalise the PDP in collaboration with all the organs and structures of the party that will culminate in a well-deserving, all-inclusive and participatory national convention very soon.

    “We enjoin you all to not despair because surely, justice shall be served; and we will reposition our party to reclaim government in 2019,” Adeyeye stated.

    But Sheriff said he would not join issues with his traducers,  particularly Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State who has been his most virulent critic.

    Said he: “Let me make it clear to some of the party members, particularly, Gov. Ayo Fayose that I will not condescend to his level. It must be very clear to him that the party has rules, and we will look at the constitution, at the appropriate time to do the right time.

    “He has made it a point of duty to be insulting Ali Sheriff everyday. I want to tell him that enough is enough. Belonging to a political party is by choice. Yes, you may have a right, but your right should not trample on another person’s right. Political party is a voluntary association.

    “If you are a leader of a political party, we have to allow people to have their choice of leadership. In all these things we are doing, we believe that PDP belongs to all Nigerians. We believe that PDP must be handed over to the owners.

    “The owners of the party must be allowed to do the right thing. That does not mean a sign of weakness. PDP that has produced 28 governors, today has 12. If we allow impunity to continue, Nigerians have the right to reject our party. You can take a horse to the river but you cannot force it to drink water.

    “We can make this party attractive to everybody. We want to reposition the party so that it can win elections. Nobody hasý the monopoly to do what they are doing, as if we don’t have the rule of law”.

  • Makarfi vows to ‘flush out’ Sheriff from PDP

    Makarfi vows to ‘flush out’ Sheriff from PDP

    The protracted leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) boiled over on Thursday as the Chairman of the party’s Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, vowed to “flush out” the court-backed party chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, from the party.

    But Sheriff has insisted that he meant well for the PDP and had agreed in totality with all the recommendations contained in Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson-led reconciliation committee for a national convention tentatively fixed for June 30.

    The two factions made their positions known at separate media briefings in Abuja on Thursday.

    The Spokesman of the Makarfi camp, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who spoke on behalf of the group, said it would be a disaster for the party to allow Sheriff preside over the planned convention.

    Describing Sheriff as “a snake under the party’s roof,” Adeyeye said the caretaker committee, in agreement with all organs and stakeholders in PDP, would deploy every available legal means to ensure that Sheriff is chased out of the party.

    Asking Sheriff to stop parading himself as the chairman of the party, the Makarfi camp pointed out that the spirit and letter of the February 17 judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal did not confer the chairman on the ex- Borno Governor.

    He said, “To buttress this, the general public will also recall that the judgment of the Appeal Court, Port Harcourt Division of Friday, February 17, 2017 that nullified the national convention of May 21, 2016 limited itself solely to the legality or otherwise of the National Convention of May 21, 2016 and not on the legality or otherwise of the appointment of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the Acting National Chairman of the PDP.

    “Firstly, let us remind the public of our earlier calls on Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to stop parading himself as Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the judgement of an Abuja High Court delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi on June 29, 2016 in which the court nullified the 2014 Amendment to the PDP Constitution that produced Senator Sheriff as Acting National Chairman of the PDP.

    “This Judgment was never appealed by Senator Sheriff and the time frame stipulated by law for the appeal has elapsed; and as such, the judgment subsists.

    “Another judgment delivered on August 17, 2016 by Justice Nwamaka Ogbonnaya of the FCT High Court in Abuja re-affirmed the ‘sack’ of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the Chairman of the PDP on the ground that the judgment of Justice Valentine Ashi which nullified his appointment has not been set aside or vacated and therefore it’s subsisting.

    “Justice Ogbonnaya further held that all actions taken by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff are null, void and of no effect; and the order further restrained him from parading himself as the Acting National Chairman of the Party.”

     

     

     

  • Makarfi angry with Dickson over convention report

    Makarfi angry with Dickson over convention report

    A deal, which Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders banked on to restore their troubled party has collapsed.

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson submitted a reconciliation report to the court-backed National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. Dickson is sympathetic to Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee.

    He told Sheriff that for peace to reign, a convention had been tentatively planned for June 30, with some conditions, if Sheriff would lead it.

    Yesterday, Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi , expressed displeasure with Dickson’s action.

    Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose insisted that he and his state’s chapter had nothing to do with Sheriff.

    He said he believed that the Supreme Court would break the ice of the leadership crisis, after which “we will know what to do”

    He spoke at the International Women Day event in Ado-Ekiti.

    The Senate Caucus of the  PDP  also yesterday turned down an invitation extended to it by Sheriff and opted for wider consultation in resolving the leadership tussle..

    Chairman of the caucus, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, told reporters after a meeting of the caucus, that Sheriff extended a letter, dated March 6 to the caucus for a meeting.

    He assured that the caucus would continue to push for an out of court settlement regarding the leadership tussle. He however said the meeting would be a better option

    Makarfi’s anger at Dickson stemmed from the publicity given the governor’s presentation of his committee’s report Sheriff on Tuesday.

    Among others, the report contains recommendations for the conduct of a national convention, tentatively fixed for June 30.

    In a statement yesterday, Makarfi faulted the Bayelsa governor for making the report public without consultation with stakeholders.

    According to him, the governor spurned advice to circulate the report and consult widely with key organs and stakeholders, adding that the report was still subject to review and amendment.

    Makarfi said Dickson presented him with a draft of the report and that he had advised the governor to ensure proper consultation and effect some changes before making it public.

    “I am shocked and disappointed that the Governor of Bayelsa made a public presentation of a purported report approved or endorsed by us and other stakeholders as reported.

    “He met me yesterday (Tuesday) and I pointed out the problems with his proposals, that it will go against even the Court of Appeal Judgement.

    “At the end, I told him as Caretaker Committee, whatever is approved by the organs of the party that we represent, we will work with and I advised him to revert back to his colleagues and other organs. But this is what we are seeing.

    “Be that as it may, the Committee never saw any draft report even though he promised coming with it. In any case, as personal advice, I referred him back to the organs of the party and the Goodluck Jonathan Committee. There was nothing before us from organs of the party to accept or reject.”

    The said report had conceded to Sheriff powers to preside over the proposed convention and to select 12 members into the Convention Planning Committee, in consultation with party stakeholders.

    Among those listed as members of the Convention Planning Committee are seven governors, seven senators, 12 members of the House of Reps, six members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and six national vice chairmen.

    Others are 18 zonal chairmen, six speakers of state assemblies; six former governors, former presiding officers of the National Assembly, six prominent women leaders, six youth leaders and six former ministers.

    Also yesterday,some  members of the Kaduna State chapter of the PDP stormed the national secretariat to pledge their loyalty to Sheriff.

    The supporters, who came under the aegis of Zone III PDP Solidarity Group, said Sheriff had demonstrated an uncommon respect for the rule of law. Doing otherwise, they said, would have put the party in greater jeopardy.

    The leader of the group, Mr. David Kajid, observed that there had been surreptitious moves by some groups and individuals to further divide the party following Sheriff’s victory at the Court of Appeal.

    He called party supporters and aggrieved members to respect the rule of law and also appealed to the leadership under Sheriff to explore dialogue and peaceful resolution of contentious issues.

    Sheriff called on members to join him in building a stronger PDP, adding that partisan politics required unity to thrive.

    “I want to make it clear that in the Appeal Court judgment, there is no winner and no loser. Politics needs unity. I pledge to carry everybody along and I am willing to work with everybody. I call on other members of the party to join me in building the party to a greater height,” the chairman said.

  • Makarfi gives terms for peace in PDP

    Makarfi gives terms for peace in PDP

    A peace plan has been drawn up for the troubled opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
    It includes conditions for a national convention to be presided over by the National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff. The convention is tentatively slated for June 30.
    According to the party’s Reconciliation Committee, the National Convention Planning Committee (NCPC) to be set up by Sheriff must draw its membership from all the organs of the party and other key stakeholders.
    The chairman of the committee, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, submitted its report to Sheriff at the party’s secretariat yesterday.
    Speaking with reporters shortly after submitting the report, Dickson said an acceptable convention remained the ultimate resolution to the party’s leadership crisis.
    Listed as members of the NCPC are seven governors, seven senators, 12 members of the House of Reps, six members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and six national vice chairmen.
    Others are 18 zonal chairmen, six speakers of state assemblies; six former governors, former presiding officers of the National Assembly, six prominent women leaders, six youth leaders, six former ministers and 12 others to be nominated by Sheriff in consultation with key stakeholders.
    The governor added that even after the Supreme Court must have ruled on the appeal filed against Sheriff by the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee, the party must go for the convention.
    He said Sheriff too was in support of the proposed convention, just like other stakeholders, adding however that mutual mistrust and lack of faith in the present leadership of the party remained an issue.
    The governor urged other elective party office holders who are still holding on to their positions to let go and seek a fresh mandate in the planned convention.
    The Dickson report was however silent on whether Sheriff would be eligible to renew his mandate through the convention, where new party leaders are expected to emerge.
    Dickson restated the party’s determination to explore every avenue to resolve its crisis through political solutions, without prejudice to the appeal pending at the Supreme Court.
    Sheriff said the report/proposal submitted by Dickson would be considered or reviewed by the National Working Committee under his leadership.
    Virtually all the party organs and stakeholders listed by Dickson as members of the convention planning committee are opposed to Sheriff’s chairmanship of the party.
    Also yesterday, Sheriff called on workers at the party secretariat to resume duties.
    The secretariat was opened for Sheriff last month after it was sealed off by the police in June 2015, at the peak of the leadership crisis.
    A statement yesterday by Mr. Bernard Mikko for Sheriff, described the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee as a “dissident group” that has been proscribed by the law.
    It accused the workers of taking sides against their condition of service, which requires them to be apolitical and loyal to the leadership of the party.
    It said: “Members of the PDP Welfare Association and indeed all committed staff of the national secretariat who have not resumed duties should immediately get back to work, as they are neither on trial nor involved in any crisis or litigation necessitating any form of political or legal solution to resolve.
    “The belligerent stance and the series of communiques issued by some members of staff indicate clearly that they have positioned themselves at the centre of political conflagrations involving their bosses against their terms and conditions of employment.
    “The dissident group which they pretend to profess their loyalty had been proscribed by law and legally dead. Any attempt to resurrect a dead horse will only amount to superstition and largely futile.”
    “Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and the entire NWC are committed to bringing the party to fame to the realisation of the dreams of the founding fathers and should be supported to do so”, the
    “Failure to heed this call will attract disciplinary procedures as the staff are deemed to be conversant with their terms and conditions of employment, particularly the PDP Establishment Manual that stipulates that they remain apolitical,” the statement added.

  • I’m not under pressure to step down, says Makarfi

    I’m not under pressure to step down, says Makarfi

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee Chairman Senator Ahmed Makarfi has denied that he was under any pressure to step down and withdraw cases he instituted against the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the party.

    The PDP has been embroiled in a fresh leadership tussle since the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt affirmed Sheriff as the party’s national chairman.

    Following the judgment, Sheriff and his team have taken over the PDP National Secretariat.

    But notable organs of the party, such as the PDP Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees (BOT) and the Forum of former ministers have reacted to the development with a view to find lasting solution to the logjam.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan had met with key stakeholders of the party and the two factions.

    Reacting to alleged pressure on him to step down, Makarfi told The Nation in a telephone interview that there was no truth in the report, alleging that it was a propaganda from the camp of Sheriff to confuse party members and the country.

    “I am not in the habit of dishing out propaganda as a strategy to confuse party members and Nigerians. I am even surprised that I could not be reached to authenticate the story before it was published. Nevertheless, let me say it categorically that I was not been pressurised by anybody to step down as the chairman of the caretaker committee.

    “There is no iota of truth in the report. I have not been pressurised over any matter and I am not in touch with Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson over any issue,” Makarfi said.

    Makarfi, who was Kaduna State governor between 1999 – 2007, dismissed reports that the alleged pressure on him was a fall-out of the intervention of Jonathan after he met with the party organs, especially the Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees and other stakeholders.

    He insisted that it was not true that he was advised by anybody to relinquish his position as a way out of the crisis, saying it was a figment of the imagination of those employed by the Sheriif camp to cause confusion.

    “Yes. We are aware of the proposals that were made after President Goodluck Jonathan’s meeting with the governors. And Prince Adeyeye has issued a press release on the matter. So, there was nothing like pressure from any quarter,” Makarfi stated.

    Makarfi also washed his hands off the purported plans to register the Advanced Peoples Democratic Party (APDP).

    Makarfi, in a statement yesterday signed by the spokesman of the caretaker committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said neither he nor any of his committee members had any hand in plans to register APDP.

    He said there was no way his committee would abandon structures of the PDP for the Sheriff faction and proceed to register another party.

    The statement said: “We state clearly and without ambiguity that the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP is not in any way involved in the plans to register any party by the name APDP or any other party for that matter.

    “It is unthinkable that the National Caretaker Committee, which without any doubt enjoys the support of all the recognised organs of the party, will contemplate such a move.

    “We, however, acknowledge and recognise the rights of party members to seek alternative platform to actualise their political dreams, which is an inalienable right guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “We also wish to state clearly and without ambiguity that the National Caretaker Committee is holding leadership power in the parry in trust for the millions of party faithful, who instituted the committee at the National Convention.

    “Whatever decision that will be taken on the PDP brand shall be taken by the owners of the party, for example, the party members at a properly constituted national convention and not by a few individuals, no matter how highly placed.”