The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

  • PDP Convention: National Executive Committee inaugurated

     

    The National Caretaker Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi has inaugurated the National Executive Committee of the party.

    Performing the inauguration at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Senator Makarfi said that the National Executive Committee (NEC), include the Board: The PDP Governors, National Assembly Caucus, Board of Trustees, National Caucus, 36 State PDP chairmen and national officers of the Party.

    He said in the absence of the elected National officers, the National Caretaker Committee members will be part of NEC.

    The National Caretaker Committee Chairman said that the National Caretaker Committee members seize to be NEC members once national officers are elected.

    At the meeting were PDP Governors, National Assembly Caucus, Board of Trustees, National Caucus, 36 State PDP chairmen and national Caretaker Committee members of the Party.

    The meeting has gone into a closed session. Journalists will be briefed subsequently.

  • PDP Convention: INEC yet to receive Abuja court ruling

    PDP Convention: INEC yet to receive Abuja court ruling

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it was yet to receive the Federal High Court, Abuja judgment on the National Convention of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled for Wednesday in Port Harcourt.

    This is contained in a message from the INEC Deputy Director on Publicity and Voter Education, Mr Nick Dazang, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Dazang said that INEC would come up with its position on motoring of the convention, adding that its staff were on standby for further directive.

    “Even though the commission has been served the Port Harcourt High Court judgment, it is yet to be served the Abuja High Court judgment by Justice Abang.

    “ As soon as it (the Commission) is served the Abuja High Court judgment, it will take a decision.

    “In the meantime, and following the Port Harcourt judgment, our monitoring staff are on standby,’’ Dazang said.

    NAN recalls that the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Monday barred the PDP from holding its planned National Convention on Aug. 17, in Port Harcourt, pending hearing and determination of the substantive suit filed by Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff.

    Justice Ibrahim Watila of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had on Monday ordered that the party’s National Caretaker Committee should proceed with the convention in Port Harcourt as scheduled.

    Watila also ordered that NEC and security agencies should monitor the convention.

    But in contrast, Justice Okon Abang also barred the PDP from presenting and electing candidates as National Officers of the party.

    The court gave the verdict in a motion on notice filed by the factional National Chairman of the party, Sen. Ali Modu Sherriff, against the convention

    Abang had also on Monday granted an interim order suspending preparations and holding of the national convention in Port Harcourt, pending the determination of the application filed before him on July 20.

    It would also be recalled that Justice Liman Makhmud in Port Harcourt, had on July 4, validated the PDP convention held in Port Harcourt on May 21.

     

  • Sheriff faults ruling on PDP convention

    Sheriff faults ruling on PDP convention

    . . . Threatens to report Judge to NJC

     

    The disputed National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff has faulted Monday’s ruling by the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt that gave the party the go ahead to hold its convention.

    Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Sheriff accused the presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Watila of bias and vowed to report him to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for appropriate action.

    According to him, the ruling was a hoax, because Justice Watila ought not to sit over the case, as the courts are presently on vacation.

    He expressed shock at the ruling of the court.

    He argued that Justice Watila converted an ex parte motion to an interlocutory order in the case filed against him by the Ahmed Makarfi led caretaker committee of the PDP.

    Sheriff also accused the Port Harcourt judge of asking workers at the court registry to abandon their duties post, so as to frustrate his legal representatives at the trial.

    Sheriff said, “Some judges in the Federal High Court are destroying Nigeria and they should be removed. In a situation where judges are compromised, whatever they do is illegal.

    “I call on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the President of the Federal Hight Court and the NJC to probe the judge in Port Harcourt because he is available to be used.”

    Based on the ruling by the Port Harcourt court, the caretaker committee has announced its readiness to proceed with tomorrow’s convention in Port Harcourt.

    But Sheriff said he would not recognise the outcome of the convention and vowed to pursue his case against the party until justice is done.

    He said; “If the convention is moved to Abuja, I will be ready to resign as chairman. Nobody should be allowed to take over the PDP

    “I will not recognise any of these gatherings. I will pursue the rule of law until justice is done. This party is for Nigerians. I am ready today, tomorrow if justice will be done, if the convention will hold in Abuja.

    “People are allowed to choose who they want as leaders; I will be prepared to hand over to that person. But unless and until we do that I have the right to remain the chairman.

    “I have been elected by the NEC for specific period of time. That period will not finish until 2018. But I’m ready to go tomorrow. But let this party not be taken over by one person. We cannot allow it.”

     

  • Don’t accuse PDP, Sani tells El-Rufai, other PDP defectors

    Don’t accuse PDP, Sani tells El-Rufai, other PDP defectors

    Sen. Shehu Sani (APC Kaduna Central) said Gov. El-Rufai of Kaduna State had no justification to blame the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for Nigeria’s problems.

    Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday, Sani said all defectors from PDP were part of the party and should not absolve themselves of blame.

    He said that the governor was a PDP beneficiary for 14 years out of the 16 years of the part’s reign and as such could not claim to be innocent.

    He added that the Kaduna state governor came to limelight through the PDP from 1999 until 2014 when he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “If you google El-Rufai, you will see him from 1999 but if you google Shehu Sani, you will see him from 1989.

    “So you can see. He was brought to limelight by virtue of being in the politics of the PDP.

    “I laughed at him when he said `the PDP has destroyed Nigeria for 16 years’ while he enjoyed 14 years out of the 16.

    “For somebody who has spent 14 out of the 16 years, you cannot say he’s a repented man in two years.

    “If you repent in two years, it has to take time to reach people who have never been sinners, like me.

    “I have never eaten from the PDP nor have I ever been under their umbrella.

    “But he was part and parcel of it for this period of time,” he said.

    He said that the APC was a convergence of forces from other political parties, adding that some of the people who came to the APC still had their PDP mentality.

    Sani insisted that the defectors should also carry all attributes of change and not act like they are still in the PDP.

    According to him, it is not unusual to have people with PDP mentality still entrenched in the APC.

    “They do not want criticism, they do not want contrary opinions, but that is what drove them from that very party.

    “When they moved out of the PDP, what they said is that they were denied the right to express themselves on the way the party should be run.

    “Nigerians have a very sadly short memory: We forget people who were part and parcel of the destruction of this country simply because they change political parties and then they become saints.

    “It is good when you repent, but we should remind you each time you try to insult our intelligence, to tell us that you are clean and every other person is dirty.’’

    Sani said that the governor was not making life easy for the common people in Kaduna state.

    According to Sani, when the APC took over from the PDP, Kaduna people had expected to witness changes, but rather than change, the government brought policies that imposed hardship on them.

    He said that the governor had been out of Kaduna for too long and so did not understand the pains and aspirations of the people.

    “Since El-Rufai took over power, he has kept on unleashing one programme after another that further made things difficult for the people.

    “We are still within the APC but right now, the problem has gone beyond me and him.

    “It also involves stakeholders in the state: the party is divided.

    There are people who have invested heavily in the party, they are marginalised, not carried along and a seeming new group has emerged challenging his dominance and authority in the party.

    He added that El-Rufai should treat people who contributed to the victory of the party in Kaduna as equals to ensure peace and reconciliations.

    He added that the governor should also recognise the poor and refrain from policies that would further impoverish them.

    He urged the governor to stop all unwarranted demolition in the state, especially when the land allegedly encroached into belonged to the Federal Government and beyond his jurisdiction.

  • National Convention’ll hold, says PDP

    National Convention’ll hold, says PDP

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted on going ahead with its national convention scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, despite court orders.

    A statement Monday by the spokesperson of the party’s caretaker committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye said the PDP already had the nod of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt for the convention.

    The statement said, “Our attention has been drawn once again to another act of judicial recklessness by the Honourable Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Okon Abang of the purported suspension of the PDP National Convention holding in Port Harcourt, Rivers on Wednesday the 17 of August 2016.

    “We wish to however state that a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt Rivers State has earlier in the day given a comprehensive Order wherein the Honourable Judge specifically ordered the PDP to proceed with the convention as scheduled without hindrance.

    “Indeed his lordship while giving the Order mandated all relevant agencies including the Police, DSS and INEC to cooperate with the party in organizing a hitch free National Convention.

    “You may also wish to note that the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State gave an Interlocutory Order while Justice Okon Abang, Abuja, gave an Interim Order.

    “The Order of Port Harcourt is clearly superior and earlier in time to the Interim Order given by Justice Okon Abang. In the light of the above, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a law abiding party is obeying the Order of the Port Harcourt, Federal High Court until set aside by any competent Court of jurisdiction.

    “In view of the above, the 2016 Repeat National Convention of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will continue as scheduled as we welcome all delegates, party leaders, other critical stakeholders, INEC monitoring team and other friends of PDP to Port Harcourt, Rivers State while wishing all our members and supporters a successful National Convention”

    No fewer than 90 aspirants will on Wednesday be jostling for the 19 vacant positions in the National Working Committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Five aspirants are contesting for the chairmanship position. They are Chief Olabode George, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja and Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

  • Updated: Court orders PDP to suspend national convention

    Updated: Court orders PDP to suspend national convention

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from proceeding with its planned national convention slated for Port-Harcourt, Rivers State on August 17.

    Justice Okon Abang, in a ruling Monday, granted an interim order directing parties in a suit before his court to suspend all plans and actions in relation to the convention pending the hearing and determination of a motion on notice for injunction filed by plaintiffs in the case.

    The case was filed by Ali Modu Sheriff and other members of the National Working Committee of the PDP, which he heads.

    The substantive suit was filed before the court’s vacation and assigned by the Chief Judge to Justice Abang’s court for hearing.

    The plaintiffs’ motion for injunction dated July 20, 2016 is seeking various reliefs, principal among which is an order restraining INEC from monitoring the national convention of PDP to be held on August 17 in Port Harcourt.

    The motion was slated for hearing on August 28, 2016 after the plaintiffs obtained the court’s leave for the motion on notice to be heard during its long vacation.

    The motion was not heard on July 28 as scheduled, on account of a motion for joinder filed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi and six other members of his Executive Committee.

    The motion was, again not heard yesterday owing to the various rulings of the court on some application, including the joinder application by Makarfi and others.

    In one of the ruling, the judge granted the prayer by Makarfi and others and joined them as defendants in the suit.

    Those joined were Makarfi, Ben Obi, Odion Ugbesia, Abdul Ningi,  Kabiru Usman, Dayo Adeyeye and Alhaja Aisha Aliyu. They were joined as 3rd to 9th defendants.

    After his clients were joined as parties in the suit, lawyer to Makarfi and others, Yunus Usman (SAN) applied for adjournment to enable him study the plaintiff’s motion for injunction, which was served on him in court yesterday by plaintiffs’ lawyer, Adeniyi Akintola (SAN).

    Adeniyi, who did not object to Usman’s application for adjournment, prayed the court to make an interim preservation order to restrain parties from taking steps to dissipate the res (substance of the case).

    Akintola, who drew the court’s attention to an order ex-parte obtained last week by a party in the case, Senator Ben Obi, from the Port-Harcourt division of the court, noted that the respondents have the habit of flouting court orders.

    He said the order obtained by Obi from the Port-Harcourt court was intended to frustrate proceedings before the Abuja court.

    Akintola said the court will be rendered helpless if no positive order was made and an adjournment was granted as sought by the defendants’ lawyer.

    Ruling, the judge said it was shocking that, despite being aware of the plaintiffs’ motion for injunction, and also being aware that a ruling was to be delivered in his application to be made a party in the case before the Abuja court, Senator Obi, on August 9, obtained an ex-parte injunction from the Port-Harcourt division of the court, directing INEC to monitor the convention and security agencies to provide security.

    “The action of Senator Ben Obi is unlawful and unfortunate. A court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot make an order that will neutralise the proceedings in another court of coordinate jurisdiction. The Port-Harcourt division of this court cannot make an order to neutralise proceedings in this court.

    “Any court of coordinate jurisdiction that takes delight in making ex-parte order in frustrating another court of coordinating jurisdiction’s proceedings is entirely on its own,” the judge said.

    He said he would have adjourned proceedings on the plaintiffs’ motion for injunction without making any preservative order, as requested by lawyer to Makarfi and others, Yunus Usman (SAN), but for an urgent and compelling need for such order in view of the action by Senator Obi and the need to take care of conflicting interests of parties before the court.

    “Senator Ben Obi, with the greatest respect to him, is a senior and responsible citizen of this country. He cannot undermine the authority of this court. He ought to have waited for the court to deliver ruling in his application, which has now been delivered in his favour.

    “Senator Ben Obi cannot slap the court in the face and expect the same court to grant him an adjournment in this matter without making any interim preservatory order.

    “Democracy is anchored on the rule of law, not on the rule of self-help; not on the rule of might. Democracy is not anchored on the whims and caprices of any person, no matter hi position in the society. If we are to sustain this democracy, nobody should be above the law.

    “Senator Ben Obi, with the greatest respect to him, cannot treat this court with disdain and levity. What is the need for rushing to another court for an order, when a court is already seised of your application? This is unfortunate and unfair,” the judge said.

    Relying on the Supreme Court decision in the case of Lagos State v. Ojukwu1986 1 NWLR pt 18 at page 621, he noted that on no account must a party to a suit resort to self- help.

    He said where a party takes the laws into his/her hands; the court must invoke its disciplinary jurisdiction to curb the excesses of the recalcitrant party, in exercise of the court’s power for the maintenance of its dignity and integrity.

    “In the light of this, lawyers and politicians must ensure that the hard earned democracy is protected to avoid anarchy. If there is a breakdown of law and order, it is the masses of this country that will suffer. The politicians and senior lawyers will quickly find their way out of the country. The court is here to ensure that there is no anarchy.

    “Therefore, in the exercise of my disciplinary jurisdiction, where a party has taken the law into its hands, and in line with the Supreme Court decision in the case of Lagos State and Ojukwu, in the interest of justice and competing interests of parties, an order is hereby made in the interim, suspending PDP convention slated for the 17th of August 2016 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, pending when the plaintiff’s motion on notice dated 20th July 2016 is heard and determined,” the judge said and adjourned to 12 noon today, hearing of the plaintiffs’ motion on notice for injunction.

    Earlier, the judge dismissed a motion filed by on behalf of the PDP by Ferdinand Orbih (SAN) seeking an order for stay of proceedings in the case pending the determination of an appeal he filed against the court’ ruling of July 28, 2016.

    The court had, in the ruling, held that Orbih, who announced appearance for the PDP on the strength that he was briefed by the Makarfi leadership of the party, cannot appear in the case because the Makarfi group lacked the power to act on behalf of the party.

    The judge allowed Olagoke Fakunle (SAN) who was briefed by the Sherif faction to represent the PDP in the case.

    Ruling on Orbih’ application for stay of proceedings, Justice Abang held that the notice of appeal filed by Orbih was incompetent as he was not known by the court as a lawyer for the PDP.

    The judge said: “Mr. F. O Orbih (SAN) has no right of appeal over the decision of this court and against the ruling of this court recognising O. Fakunle (SAN) as the counsel for the PDP.”

    He said Orbih, having not been recognised as a party in the suit, he could only have appealed against decision of the court delivered on July 28 by first seeking the leave of the court to appeal as an interested person.

    “Having not obtained leave to appeal against the decision of the court, it is my view that he (Orbih) has compiled nothing and transmitted nothing (as regard the record of proceedings which he said he had compiled and transmitted).

    “Therefore, the compilation and transmission of records to the Court of Appeal is in nullity.”

    The judge also said Orbih failed to file a verifying affidavit, exhibitting the notice of appeal that he filed with respect of the case as he ought to do.

    “With the greatest respect to the learned counsel, he has laboured in vain. There is no evidence that the appeal has been transmitted,” he said.

    Justice Abang, who noted that the court spent about five hours in resolving Orbih’ application, awarded N50,000 cost against him, to be personally by him, in favour of the plaintiffs.

    Justice Abng equally dismissed a motion filed by one Sikirula Ogundele, asking for among other prayers, that the judge should disqualify himself from further hearing the case.

    In the motion which was said to have been filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Yemi Oke, Ogundele, who is not a party to the suit, accused the judge of bias.

    The judge was angered by the decision of the applicant to join him as a respondent in the appeal filed against the July 28 decision of the court by Ogundele.

    A lawyer, Dolapo Kehinde, who initially held the brief for Oke, withdrew his appearance in the case when he could no longer defend the content of the motion.

    Justice Abang, in upholding the request by Akintola and Fakunle for the dismissal of the motion, held that Ogundele “is a meddlesome interloper” in the case.He is a busybody wandering about.”

    He said Ogundele and his lawyers also flouted the provisions of section 188 of the Evidence Act which grants a judge judicial immunity against being sued over his decision in the course of his official duty.

    The judge said, but for the decision of Ogundele’s lawyer not to proceed with his application, he (the judge) would have cited him (Ogundele) for contempt for making contemptuous depositions in the affidavit supporting his application.

    Monday’s proceedings, which started at 9am, ended at 4.45pm.

    Parties are to return to court Tuesday at 12noon.

     

  • ‘Why I am contesting for Publicity Secretary of PDP’

    ‘Why I am contesting for Publicity Secretary of PDP’

    My name is Prince Deji Adeyanju and I have been a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) for several years. I am a firm believer in its principles and ideals. I also believe that PDP is the only truly national party in Nigeria and is, therefore, best placed to deliver successful achievement of the collective ideals and aspirations of the Nigerian people.

    While I recognise that the party is by no means perfect, I am aware that over the years it has deepened democracy in the country and has contributed immensely to the growth and development of Nigeria as a whole.

    Following the defeat PDP suffered in the last general elections, and the zoning of the office of the National Publicity Secretary (NPS) to the North Central Region of the country, I have decided to contest for the office and a place on the National Working Committee of the party.

    I believe I possess the skills, ability and the personality to make an outstanding contribution to the task of improving the image of the party. It is for this reason that I solicit the support of all members of the party as I work to actualise this ambition.

    In return for your support, I pledge to give my best in the day to day activities of the office. I pledge to ensure that the image of the party, the protection and polishing of which is the objective of the Directorate of Publicity, will be significantly better at the end of my tenure than the way I met it. I pledge to execute my duties with exemplary discipline and dedication to duty.

    In return for your support, I pledge to bring a new way of doing things to the Publicity Secretariat of the party. I pledge to lead a revolution that will not only strengthen the faith that members and supporters have in the party, but which will also convince millions of Nigerians that as a party PDP has their best interests at heart and is the most viable vehicle with which to deliver on our collective dreams & aspirations.

    This way, together with the leadership of the party, I believe that we can make this party great again.

  • I cleared nine years pension arrears owed by PDP – Oshiomhole

    I cleared nine years pension arrears owed by PDP – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday claimed that his administration cleared eight years gratuity and pensions arrears left behind by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) controlled government in his state.

    He was reacting to allegations that he has not paid pension arrears and creating problems for the incoming administration in Edo State.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke with State House correspondents in Abuja, explained that the 13 years arrears he met have been reduced to 4 years.

    Stressing that more arrears will be cleared before his tenure expires; he maintained that there is no pension arrears for those already captured in the scheme.

    He said: “The problem PDP has in Edo State is very clear to everyone. First, they had the privilege of presiding over the state for 10 years, from 1999 to 2008. During this period, their records with regards to workers are clear.

    “First, on assumption of office in 1999, PDP government sacked all permanent secretaries because they needed their agents as permanent secretaries. They had to sack the ones they met and appoint fresh ones.

    “The following year, 2000, they sacked over 7,000 civil servants and none of them was paid gratuity or pension. From 1998 when the Army left, to 1999 and to the end of 2008 when I took over, that was a period of 13 years.

    “So we found a pension bill of 13 years, arrears of gratuity and pension not paid by the PDP government including the 7,000 people they dismissed.

    “When I assumed duties at the end of 2008, I had two options. There was this temptation to see that I would be paying those who retired during my tenure. But as a former leader, I asked myself that if an employer was so callous to carry out massive retrenchment of workers as the PDP did by sacking 7,000 workers and did not pay them gratuity, is it the fault of those workers?” he queried

    Continuing, he said: “So, I accepted the fact that government is a continuum. So as we speak today, we have paid all those who pensioned in 1998 and 1999, all those they dismissed in 2000 and those who retired from 2001 to 2011.

    “So I have paid pension arrears of 13 years even though I have been in government for only seven years plus,” he said.

    He pointed out that he would have paid double if he had limited himself to pension bills of those who retired during his tenure.

    Stressing that his government has brought change, he said that pensioners in Edo State, before he assumed office, don’t normally get their pension until they go to the streets.

    He said that some of the pensioners died in the process.

    He added: “But today, those who are already on our pension list, whose gratuity has not been paid, they pay them pensions the same day that we pay salaries.

    “We are not in arrears of one month pension to those who are already in the scheme. I am proud to say that, talking about leaving arrears, I met 13 years arrears and I have reduced it to four years. Before the end of my tenure, we will still pay more and that number of years will still be further reduced. So when you look at these facts, PDP can’t talk,” he said.

    He said that his administration has been able to raised highest civil servant in Edo State to Grade Level 17 from 16 in line with their federal counterpart.

    According to him, his administration has increased minimum wage while other state governors are still debating that it was too high.

    On salary, he said: “We are not in arrears of one month salary in Edo State, we are up to date. For all those who are in direct employment of the state government, including teachers at all levels.

    “We have also gone out of the convention to think outside the box because for me, the most important workers in Nigeria are teachers. If the state cannot deliver on public health, infrastructure, we must not fail to deliver on education because the world is knowledge-driven and is increasingly digitalised.

    “Only nations with educated citizens can cope with the rigors of competition in a digitalised world and we are giving primary attention to that,” he stated.

  • Ali Modu Sheriff’s excess luggage

    Ali Modu Sheriff’s excess luggage

    I have never been a fan of Ali Modu Sheriff’s kind of politics. It is a political philosophy predicated on the principle of the end justifies the means, which I find appalling. His praise epithet, known as “kirari” in Hausa, recited at all his political gatherings before he mounted the podium throughout his eight year rule as governor portrays him as a “ruthless and mean” person. Perhaps, a critical analysis of this praise epithet will help Nigerians understand why he will continue to be a source of nightmare to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), unless he has his way.
    Anyone who openly challenges SAS, as he is popularly called, has murdered sleep. The way and manner he humiliated the late Mala Kachallah out of office in 2003, describing his election as a mistake (kuskure), and how he almost made Borno State ungovernable for Kashim Shettima between 2013 and 2015, tells the story of the “Lion of the desert.” The duo’s crime was that they refused to be puppet governors.
    However, there are three qualities I admire in the former governor. First, he is a goal getter who never sleeps until he gets what he wants. Second, he never takes anything for granted, such that the way he will fight a common man on the street undermining his political interest is the same way he will fight a governor or president.
    Third, more than any other living politician in Borno’s history, he understands the power of money in achieving political goals. This partly accounts for why he has come this far in the murky waters of Nigeria’s politics. I believe that these qualities, if better managed, can propel him to greater heights, but blind ambition, obsession with power and vendetta have so much blurred his vision that he cannot see these political assets in him.
    His unending desire to become the PDP national chairman at all costs, after the duo of Governors Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike tricked him, underscores his obsession with power. This has continued to erode his remaining political capital, if he still has any. A keen follower of the chairmanship crisis does not need a soothsayer to know that some chieftains took advantage of his financial war chest, collected his money and hoodwinked him into becoming acting national chairman, but left him in the cold at the eleventh hour.
    That was also the basic script of his political act while he held sway as governor of Borno for eight years. Sheriff does not deserve anybody’s sympathy over his current travails, as what you do unto others shall be done unto you. Perhaps, the late Dele Giwa had him in mind when he said “any evil done by man to man will be redressed; if not now then later, if not by man then by God. For the victory of evil over good is temporary.”
    For those who have forgotten, I will recall three major instances out of many to buttress my point. In 2003, he had promised Mohammed Kumalia, a one-time All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Minority leader in the House of Representatives that he would make him governor after dethroning the late Mala Kachallah.
    The young, charismatic and eloquent Kumalia took Sheriff’s words as the gospel truth, started campaigning underground, putting up political structures and even sold one of his properties in Abuja to raise money for the project. At the eleventh hour, Sheriff told Kumalia at the tarmac of the Maiduguri Airport that he has changed his mind because people said he cannot deliver the state to the party. Kumalia was heartbroken; their relationship degenerated leading to his expulsion from the party.
    He has not recovered from this political blow dealt on him by Sheriff till this day.
    There was also the case of his other political soul mate and controversial strong woman of Borno politics, Fati Kakeena. He had promised her the ticket of the Borno North Senatorial district under ANPP. After the elections got to the elections petitions tribunal, he turned his back on her and attempted to bring in Ambassador Ahmed Baba Jidda, his then secretary to the state government. This episode led to a long drawn political and legal battle between him and Kakeena that they have remained sworn enemies till this moment.
    While the case of Kumalia and Kakeena sounds like child’s play, Kabir Wanori, a staunch Mala Kachallah loyalist, is one politician who will never forget the former governor. Sheriff made him decamp from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) promising him heaven and earth, only to dump him like garbage as soon as he joined the party. Wanori became stuck politically like a car broken down midway into a journey, until Governor Kashim Shettima rehabilitated him two years ago.
    The PDP, on the other hand, does not deserve the sympathy of Nigerians too. They knew who Ali Sherifff is before bringing him on board. One thing he loves after his life is power. You cannot befriend a mortuary attendant and say you do not want to see dead bodies. The PDP should not shed crocodile tears. The party was built on deceit and thrived on injustice for sixteen years. It is responsible for Nigeria’s economic woes today and is reaping the fruits of its labour.

    The question is: Does Ali Modu Sheriff need to be PDP national chairman to be relevant in Nigerian politics? The answer is ‘No’. In fact, the manner he has continued to move from one court to another getting all sorts of injunctions is injurious to his political career. The PDP as it is today is a liability and bad brand that no amount of rebranding can repair. In addition, the party’s chieftains do not seem to realise the import of Obasanjo’s tearing of his membership card in the countdown to the 2015 general elections. The former president simply tore the future of the party and no amount of coalition can revive it. Sheriff is just one of the party’s many problems.
    He also does not have what it takes to lead the party because of his personality. Sheriff still has a hangover of Borno’s kind of politics where there is no plurality of views. Hence, he failed to understand the inner workings of the PDP that he said through his aide that he had expelled the likes of Jerry Gana and others who are founding fathers of the party. It was from this point, his trouble with PDP started. It is ridiculous that a man who is a barely two years in a party will expel those who wrote the constitution of the party seventeen years ago.
    As it is today, Sheriff needs to lie low and do proper stock taking of his political career. He left the All Progressives Congresses (APC) under controversial circumstances over irreconcilable differences with the leaders. At a point, he almost engaged Bola Tinubu in a physical combat just because he would not be allowed to produce a candidate for the position of national chairman and secretary respectively. Since joining the PDP, he has continued in the same manner, clashing with the governors elected on the party’s platform. He has made enough enemies in his eight year rule as Borno governor, alongside the Boko Haram controversy. He cannot afford to make more as his shoulders are not broad enough to carry the burden. There is a popular Hausa proverb that applies here: “Da mugun rawa, gaara kin tashi”, meaning “instead of a bad dance, it is better one does not get up at all.” For how long will he continue to accumulate excess luggage for a political career marred by controversies?
    Sheriff, despite his stupendous wealth, cannot win the chairmanship of his home local council, Ngala, today, not to talk of becoming a senator in Borno Central, with eight local government areas. He should stop deceiving himself, if people are deceiving him, that he is a presidential material. According to a Malawian proverb, “he who thinks he is leading and no one is following him is only taking a walk.”
    I wonder how his wife, Fati and children feel when they read stories from Nigerian newspapers posted on social media and the kind of nasty comments that follow. I do not know his children, but I surely know his wife is too gentle for the kind of controversies he keeps getting into. I also wonder what the friends of his children say when they read these negative comments.
    Ali Modu Sheriff, by any standard, either before he became governor or after, is not a poor man. He comes from one of the richest families in Borno. Politically, providence has smiled on him as the first son of Dikwa emirate to be elected governor twice; he was elected to the Senate thrice, though inaugurated twice as the third one was truncated by the military; and reduced the Borno State PDP to spectators for eight years despite holding the government at the centre. Hence, he does not need to be active in politics to survive. Then, why all this trouble? He needs to save his wife and children the trauma of these negative commentaries about him in both mainstream and social media.
    In addition, no matter how biased a historian may be, the story of Nigeria’s democratic experience in the last sixteen years cannot be written without mentioning the name of Ali Modu Sheriff. In the case of Borno, the story will be incomplete without a chapter being dedicated to him. What else does he want?
    Above all, he needs to take a break in order to not to do more damage to the family name. Today, the mention of his name in any part of the country elicits negative reactions because of the brand he has unconsciously built for himself. He needs to protect the family name and allow his other siblings to make their mark in national politics. It is interesting to note that out of his father’s fifty five children, he seems to be the most “famous”, but there are others doing their things quietly that people may not know are from the family with him.
    His insistence on treading the same path can deny his other siblings the opportunity of attaining prominence in national politics because he is damaging his political career and the People’s Democratic Party. The former governor must realise his current actions can rubbish the hard work of his father, Galadima Dikwa, Modu Sheriff. He is gradually becoming a mirror through which Nigerians view the family which may be wrong. Galadima Dikwa is one Borno businessman I respect so much, regardless of what others may think of him. Despite his little education and humble beginning as a local perfume seller, he achieved what the likes of Late Ahmed Mai Deribe could not achieve despite being close to the corridors of power. Every Borno man knows what happened to Deribe’s eldest son, Zanna, at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) despite his father’s stupendous wealth. It is better to allow sleeping dogs lie. He needs to learn from this and tread softly because power makes and destroys people.
    No matter how many court judgments he gets, the PDP governors who are the heartbeat of the party are not likely to accept him; neither will he give up on his ambition to lead the party. He has inflicted enough damage on the party that it will go into the Edo governorship election in disarray. He has also put the “Inconclusive” National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a bigger dilemma on how to proceed with the Edo elections.
    Ali Modu Sheriff must realise that his desperate attempt to lead the party is an exercise in futility. This is because the PDP is a sinking ship and the forces against him are far more mischievous than he is. But true to his praise epithet, he will continue to punch holes in the umbrella, so much so that everyone in the party will become drenched. He will also take the undignifying responsibility of being the undertaker for the party. Excess luggage in politics comes with so much pain that it buries both the owner and his luggage.

  • Makarfi committee set to conduct congresses in Imo, Yobe

     

     

    The Ahmed Makarfi led Caretaker Committee of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has announced preparations for state congresses in Imo and Yobe states.

    A statement last night signed by a member of the committee, Senator Abdul Ningi said the congress will take place on Monday August 8. The congresses are meant to fill vacuum created by the failed congresses in the two states in May.

    The statement said, “Sections 15 (1) (e) and 18 (1) (g) of the PDP Constitution (As Amended in 2012) provide that 3 Ad-hoc delegates shall be elected at Ward Congresses to LGA and State Congresses.

    “Section 18 (2) (c) stipulates that National Delegates shall be elected at LGA Congresses to the National Convention. In both cases, Ward Ad-Hoc and National Delegates shall cease to function at the conclusion of congresses or National Convention for which they were elected.

    According to the guideline, ward congresses will take place in the two states on August 10, while the local government congresses will hold on August 12.

    This is coming just as the Ali Modu Sheriff faction announced the lifting of the suspension order placed on some chieftains of the party in Abia state.

    In a separate statement last night jointly signed by Sheriff and factional National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, the group voided the suspension order placed on Messers Chidi Nwosu (Umuahia South) Emeka Ejiogu (Umuahia North) and Chukwuemeka Osoagbaka (Ikwuano).

    The statement said, “The NWC frowns at a situation where party members are being victimized because of their loyalty to the leadership at the national level.

    “It is important that all organs of the party must respect party members’ wish to associate with other members irrespective of various affiliations. The crisis going on in the party is an internal matter and is in the process of resolution.

    “It is worthy to note that party members in Abia state being so victimized have not committed any anti-party activity.

    “In the light of this, the NWC hereby directs the Abia state chapter to immediately rescind the purported suspensions and show, within 48 hours, evidence of its compliance with the NWC.

    “Failure to comply will attract stiff sanctions in accordance with the constitution of the PDP”.